Music of the Soul
by Amiyrasmom
Summary: I've read a few of these crossovers and I really liked the idea so I wrote my own. Riddick knows River from the Academy and has fallen in love with her but that isn't good for the bad guys so they take him away and tell her he's dead. She can't find his mind and so she believes them. One year later Simon rescues her and they find Riddick on Serenity. Let me know what you think.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Riddick is not mine…unfortunately. Been a Vin Diesel fan from his very first movie. I also don't own Firefly. Latecomer on that one as I've only discovered it this past year. Anyway, they belong to their various writers, producers and all those other legal type people, I only get to play with them for the moment.**

**A/N: I have not seen the newest Riddick movie. So obviously this story isn't going to follow that story line. Duh. So the premise is that Vaako knows that Riddick is unhappy being the Lord Marshall so he gets proactive and drops Riddick off in a system of planets that the Necromongers have left alone. Vaako is unaware of exactly what the Blue Sun Corporation intends for Riddick and has faith that if it is something bad then Riddick is fully capable of getting himself out. Vaako ****_does not_**** intend for any harm to come to his friend and Lord Marshall he's just trying to help. Once in the hands of the Blue Sun Riddick meets River and falls hard for her. The rest of what happens to them will be in the story and I'm hoping it captures your attention enough that you're willing to wait for the answers. A story is no fun if you know all the details before you turn a page. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

**Music of the Soul**

**Prologue**

"Sir?" The voice of the man in the cockpit of the shuttle was hesitant and Vaako frowned before turning to regard his subordinate. The man quailed under his intense stare but eventually swallowed and continued. "Are you sure this is the best idea?" His eyes darted to the bound figure lying at Vaako's feet.

Vaako sighed gustily and shook his head before returning his attention to the bound, gagged and drugged man at his feet. The man that had been his friend and his leader. He would miss him but…it was better for all this way. "Yes," he said softly almost as though speaking to himself. "The Riddick has no desire to lead us. Yet…he is a good man. I refuse to kill him though our faith calls for it. He has been…a friend." Vaako crouched down beside the shorter man's form and tested the chains. Should the Riddick suddenly wake and find himself in chains again none would survive his wrath. "He searches for that which we do not possess. We will leave him here and continue on our journey to the Underverse." It really was for the best. Or that was what he had to tell himself.

The Lieutenant cocked his head to the side and considered the bound Lord Marshall for a silent moment. His head dipped in a nod of agreement even if his face continued to frown. The Lord Marshall was an oddity. But Lord Vaako always understood him better than any other. "He has been…discontent," the Lieutenant finally allowed. "Perhaps you are right, Lord Vaako. Perhaps it is better for all of us to part company here. Though…we will have to leave this system alone if we do not want to face his retribution." His eyes widened at the thought of the Riddick's form of vengeance. Genocide was a concept not foreign to Necromongers unless it applied to themselves. The Riddick would teach them the meaning of the word in regards to them should he free himself and they were still in this system.

Vaako loosed a sardonic chuckle though he too feared the wrath of the Riddick as any sane man would have. The Riddick was a fearsome man and only a fool would cross him and stay within his line of sight. "Indeed," he easily agreed. "Retribution would be swift and deadly." _And a glorious battle to observe_, though he kept that thought to himself. "We can afford to leave this system alone." He rose gracefully to his feet as the shuttle sensors beeped an incoming message. "Come," he motioned the Lieutenant to answer the blinking screen. "We shall leave him in safe hands." _I hope. _If those men didn't keep the Riddick safe then…well, Vaako could only pray for their souls as they wouldn't be living for very long. Part of him hoped they tried to harm the Riddick. There was something off about those that had contacted him. Such men were not normally to be trusted.

Vaako stared down at his friend and leader as he absently listened to the Lieutenant's conversation with the Blue Sun operative. Stray thoughts crossed his mind as he listened. He would miss this man. He could only tell himself that this was the right decision. It had to be. The Riddick may not thank him for this deception but it was necessary. He would understand one day. _And if he doesn't at least he'll kill me quickly…maybe. _The Riddick could be magnificently brutal when the mood struck him.

"Sir," the Lieutenant called out to him as he flipped off a switch on the console in front of him. His voice bled uncomfortableness. "The operative is prepared to receive the Riddick…er, they call him the package sir. I am uncertain…" The man shrugged uncertainly as he trailed off and turned slightly in his seat to stare over at his commander.

Vaako waved a hand negligently and nodded as though this action was to be expected. And it had been. He'd known those men were not to be trusted. Still it was far too late to back out now and dump the Riddick on a faraway planet. "It will be fine," he attempted to assure them both. "The Riddick is strong. Should they put him in a cage he will simply break out again." _And slay all in his path._ "Be at ease, Lieutenant, did he not stride directly into our citadel and then manage to escape us?" He attempted to reassure the Lieutenant even as his own skin crawled with uncomfortableness. He wasn't enthused with the men he was handing the Riddick over too but…well, it was the only plan he had. And may the Riddick never darken his door again. Though he would miss the man he did desire to stay alive.

The Lieutenant nodded with a small, serene smile, reassured by his new leaders words and confident look. Lord Vaako understood the Riddick in a way that no other Necromonger did. "He did. Very well, my Lord, they are ready for him. Shall I send-?"

"I'll take care of it," Vaako interrupted him. This was one task he would fulfill himself. It was the least he could do for the man that had been his leader and would remain a friend no matter the systems that separated them. He crouched next to Riddick again, checking his bonds and securing the goggles protecting the Riddick's silver eyes. "Good-bye and good luck, my friend," he said lowly so that the Lieutenant wouldn't hear. "May your enemies fall to your blade and may you find the home you seek." He stroked a finger over the hairless brow and nodded his head in a bow to the man that had been so much more than a leader.

Vaako stood and, with a last look at his friend, closed the airlock doors and separated forever the life of his friend and his own. There would be no further contact between them. It was sad and yet…_the Riddick will find whatever it is that he is searching for._

Vaako took a step away and turned to press himself against the side of the door away from the small window port. The Blue Sun operative had specified that no one be in the airlock with the Riddick while they retrieved him. They requested that no one even watch and Vaako had acquiesced though he had no intention of actually doing as requested. The small peep hole he'd drilled himself gave him enough of a view of the airlock to see what happened and would be repaired easily before they left the planet's atmosphere. He would not simply hand the Riddick over before being assured that he was in no danger of immediate death. The Riddick was drugged and unable to defend himself. It wouldn't last long and he would awaken alert and knowing him angry. Still, for the next few moments the Riddick was vulnerable.

The outer airlock door cycled open and Vaako readied the blast gun in his hand. He would not let them kill the Riddick. Should they even make a movement that Vaako found threatening he would kill all of them. Even himself should it mean the Riddick would live.

The two men who arrived sent a shiver down Vaako's spine. They didn't look very threatening but Vaako could feel how very dangerous they actually were. Dressed in suits and blue gloves they had an unnaturalness to their movements and a cold dead look in their eyes. It was a look he well recognized. The conscripts of the previous Lord Marshall had carried that look.

_Maybe this hadn't been the best idea after all_, he thought, but it was too late to change anything. They seemed to be unaware of him. He only drew a breath after they had collected the Riddick and resealed the airlock after themselves. Perhaps he shouldn't have allowed them to cart the Riddick away but he really had no other options.

"Peace and happiness, Richard," Vaako breathed out in farewell. He was sure he would find out later if he'd actually made a very bad decision. The Riddick would be sure to tell him just before he blew his head off. The thought was comforting in its way.

**RR/RT RR/RT RR/RT**

**Two years later…**

Silence. Complete, utter silence and the acrid smell of cleaning chemicals. That was all he could smell. There was no lingering trace of her scent. She was just…gone. Everyone was gone. As though they had never been. As though she had never existed here at all. Only memories left in the emptiness.

The entire complex felt as it looked. Abandoned and disused. If he would have thought about it he'd have been startled that the place could become so completely empty in the short, but too long, month he'd been absent from its confines. But he wasn't thinking about it. He wasn't actually thinking about anything at all.

No, he had no need for thought right now. Thoughts and analyzation were helpful for what he was doing. The Riddick was hunting. Hunting for her. For them. Either didn't really matter as one would lead to the other.

Nose flared and eyes sharp he hunted. There had to be some trace of her here where they'd been for so very long. There had to be something left behind so that he could track her. Could find her. Could take her away from these monsters that called themselves men. But there wasn't. There was nothing left of her here. Not a whiff, not a cell.

He finally came to a stop and stood motionless in the doorway of what had been their "room". He'd always preferred to call it a cell, so had she. Cameras covering every angle, glass walls to the hallway. And yet…he'd been borderline content even with the lack of privacy. _Because She was here._ There was nothing here now. Nothing but for the holes they had punched through the walls on either side of the room when they'd been sparring. The closest he'd ever come to a kind of home and it was completely empty now. No trace of her. No trace of him.

His sudden howl of rage and madness tinged grief echoed eerily back to him in the empty corridors. His eyes burned into the walls desperate for some trace. Anything.

Her scent had been completely eradicated by some chemical or other. The bastards had taken her and bugged out. They knew he was still alive. And they feared he'd come back for her. They were right to fear, he decided, rage making his thoughts the red of blood. They should be very afraid. He was going to kill them all, after all. Every last person that had played a part in her captivity and torture. And he would make sure they took a long time to die.

"I will find you," he muttered darkly to the empty room, to her, to them. "I will find you and you will all pay in blood for the pain you've caused." He promised to them, his heart, the one they'd used to say he didn't have, broken and filling swiftly with the bloodthirst that had been his companion for so long before her. The bloodlust that only her tiny hands on his skull could tame and mold to a purpose beyond utter destruction.

He took one last long look at the tiny room that had once held the only piece of his heart he'd ever had and then walked away, the Wrath of an entire race flowing through his veins and making his heart beat the tattoo of vengeance.

The hallways echoed with only the sound of his footsteps. She was not here. She was somewhere out there. And he would find her. Slowly the echoes faded away leaving only the dust and the ring of dark promises in the air.

"If I have to burn the 'Verse and everything in it, I'll find you, my own. And then we'll kill them all." His voice hung heavy in the air long after he had left that place of pain and misery, torture and sorrow, happiness and contentment.

**RR/RT RR/RT RR/RT**

**Later that week…**

The bar was noisy, smelly and dim enough to hide a multitude of criminal acts, but he didn't mind the influx of sensation. It dulled the pain chewing at his soul just enough to make it bearable. The alcohol wasn't bad either. Though that had never been a crutch he turned to. No matter how bleak things had become he would not lose sight of his objective. He had to find some trace of her. He had to find her and make them pay for this pain and any they had visited on her.

A sudden flurry and commotion a few barstools down the way from his own drew his attention away from his dark thoughts for a moment. "Toast!" A male voice shouted loudly and drunkenly if Riddick was any judge. Very drunkenly. "All ya'll shut up! I'ma callin' fer a toast!"

Riddick grunted in annoyance and turned back to his whiskey. The only toasts he made were to his girl. A feeling of anticipatory stillness towards the back caught his attention before it had fully turned inward to thoughts of her, of vengeance and blood, and he stared at the trio playing some card game from the corner of his eye. They were far too still. Too quiet and too watchful. Something was wrong there. Something poised to pounce. To destroy and tear at something.

"Five years ago on this day the Alliance routed the Independents!" The drunken man continued in his warbling shout. Riddick tilted his head to the side and frowned in confusion. What the hell was the Alliance or the Independents? He shook off the confusion, neither of those groups had anything to do with him. Still…, he argued with himself, information about this new universe the Necros had set him down in two years ago was all to the good…maybe. "Them damned Independents ran like the cowards they is! To the Alliance!" The burly, unwashed man three stools down from Riddick lifted his mug and downed the contents. Most of the bar followed his lead and a table full of military looking men hooted and clapped. The three in the back were the few, besides himself, that didn't drink to the Alliance, whatever that was.

"Unification Day!" Nearly everyone yelled after they'd drunk down the contents of their cups. Riddick eyed the soldiers with distaste and greed. If they were what the man had meant about the Alliance then he had no intention of ever toasting them or doing anything with them aside from bathing happily in their blood. He knew those uniforms, knew them only too well. He'd seen them often enough at the Facility with his girl. They were part of the problem and he'd be more than happy to offer up a permanent solution. As a matter of fact…an idea percolated in his mind and he continued to eye them as he let it form. He wasn't stupid. There was no way he was going to challenge them here. Not when the whole bar would take part in the battle. He knew he'd win but…a dark alley suited his tastes better. And he couldn't interrogate them while ducking the drunks.

Another part of him kept an eye on the trio that had been sitting in the back. The three that still seemed to be waiting for something. The dark haired man seemed to be whispering urgently to the woman. She was shaking her head in a resigned way while the tall man with his back to the wall just crossed his arms over his chest and glared out at the room. To any other observer they would appear at ease, comfortable, but Riddick knew the tenseness of a hunter stalking prey. Those three were dangerous and ready for a fight.

His brain catalogued the trio's strengths and weaknesses even as he kept the same kind of calculating eye on the soldiers. He nearly snorted at the purple clothed men. Milksops, the lot of them. He could have taken them all on with one hand and his goggles broken. It was the rest of the population of the bar that caused him pause. Even drunk these men were rowdy and loud and strong. They weren't milksops. A bar brawl would be tricky, especially if it was one against everyone else. He wasn't enthused with those odds and he wouldn't get the information he wanted either.

Four against the others would be much better. But was there any way to snap that thread of tension holding the trio back without compromising their assistance? He took a sip of his whiskey and continued to attempt to think of a way to get the trio to assist him. He cast a frown at the soldiers; if the trio kept everyone else busy he could take care of the soldiers. Theirs was the only blood he cared to shed here anyway.

A few moments later the level of noise in the bar went back to normal and Riddick returned to his drink. Looked like he wasn't going to get that brawl going anytime soon. Looked like stalking and eliminating the soldiers in a dark alley was the only plan. Maybe it was better that way. He took another sip of his whiskey.

Then one of the trio, the shorter man, the one with dark hair, walked over with an empty cup and stood at the bar between Riddick and the man who'd made the toast. Riddick's senses tingled as the other man brushed by him. A hunter. Hiding. Watching. Waiting for something.

Riddick's Chinese was getting better but the dark haired man in the brown coat spoke his order far too fast and too quietly for Riddick to understand it. Besides, his girl hadn't been much of a drinker. She was only sixteen after all. And she claimed to have no taste for alcohol. Just as well, really, neither did he, usually.

"You didn't toast," the dark haired man murmured to Riddick lowly with a seemingly friendly smile. But Riddick could see the danger seething just beneath the other man's skin. Riddick felt the change in the air that signaled movement behind him and knew the woman that had been at the back table was creeping towards them. Maybe that brawl was in the offing after all. His muscles tensed slightly, prepping for battle and blood.

"Neither did you," Riddick growled back, his own smile anything but amiable. Neither of them were strangers to reading beneath the words being said and a bargain was struck silently. Two hunters with a common purpose.

The dark haired man smirked in amusement or mocking, Riddick wasn't sure which and thought it might have been both. "The Alliance and I…well, we ain't too friendly." The other man confessed easily enough. Too easily.

Riddick eyed the soldiers again with hatred burning in his heart. He could understand the other man's confession. Assistance in a fight with too many opponents was always welcomed…at least until the fight was over. "Neither are we," Riddick shook his head and sipped at his whiskey to cover the Wrath in his voice. "You got a point to this chat?" The sounds of the bar slowly deadened to his ears. Beneath his goggles his eyes glittered silver steel.

"Nope," the man shook his head, that sardonic smirk still twisting his lips, muscles tensed and waiting patiently for the spark to light. "Just thought it was a bit interestin', is all."

Riddick snorted in grim amusement and shook his head. He knew the man was just passing time until someone noticed something about him that would spark off the brawl hanging in the air. He wasn't sure as yet what it was that the other man was waiting for but he was content to let the anticipation build. Made the fight more satisfying.

"Yer coat's kinda brown," the drunken burly man that had made the toast suddenly broke in to their aimless staring contest. "You one 'o them Independents, boy?" His gruff voice was surly and suspicious.

The dark haired man turned to face the other. "And if I was?" He asked in a cool voice. Riddick shook his head in sardonic amusement. The drunk didn't know the tiger he was baiting.

The burly man straightened his back and stared into the dark haired man's eyes, belligerence radiating from his every pore. "Then I'd call you a coward to yer face," he spat.

The dark haired man's shoulders tensed almost imperceptibly at the insult and he slowly and carefully set down the drink he had in his hand. "Pardon?" His voice was ice.

Ignoring any sense of imminent danger, the burly man's eyes flicked to Riddick over the dark haired man's shoulder. "You too, boy," he spat out again. "I say yer both dirty, yellow bellied cowards and they shoulda put all you Independents down like the dogs ya are."

Riddick felt that itching on the back of his neck that always came before a good fight. He couldn't help the dark grin that spread across his lips. Looks like he'd be getting that chance for a permanent solution after all. He set his glass down and rested his forearms on the bar. Deceptively relaxed. Ready to spring.

"Well, that does sound like a challenge," the dark haired man said slowly, his body tilting slightly into a stance meant for confrontation. "Is it?" He kept his voice pleasant and maybe a little confused.

"You dumb and a coward, boy?" The burly man pressed a step closer, Riddick nearly drowned in the fumes of alcohol wafting from his mouth.

"Smarter than you," was the laconic answer. "See I'm just stallin'. Had to give her time to get behind ya. But…"

The burly man spun around quickly, but not quite quickly enough and the dark skinned woman clocked him with a great big pistol before he could even raise a hand to defend himself. "Independents don't hit people in the back," she finished for the dark haired man with a vicious quirk of her lips that would have been a smile if it wasn't for the menace in it. "Not iffen we can help it."

Riddick let out a dark chuckle, the woman was all kindsa interesting. Her voice had been nearly completely stoic but the light in her eyes telegraphed her enjoyment of the attack. A hunter indeed.

His eyes flitted to the third member of their party and Riddick frowned confusion again skittering along his senses. The big man was sitting back with his hands resting on the table, a cigar between his teeth and a bland look on his face as he eyed his companions.

"Jayne?" The dark haired man called out keeping his eyes on the stunned crowd. "Lookin' like we got a situation here," the bar was silent and then there was the sound of scraping chairs as men shook off their shock and stood up. "You got a notion ta give us a hand?"

The big man grinned, showing teeth and clapped his hands together in mocking applause. "There ya are. I done gave you a hand, Cap. I didn't fight in no war and I ain't gonna." The lie tasted of bitter almonds in the air.

"Shiny," sarcasm rang thick in the dark haired man's voice. Riddick tilted his head at the big man. Backup then, he nodded to himself understanding the strategy. The idiot drunks in the bar had already dismissed the big man as a threat so they weren't watching him. Stupid. He was the most dangerous of the trio. Fierce intelligence hidden behind ignorant brutality.

The burly man finally got up from the floor and shook his head like a dog. He scowled at the woman and the dark haired man. "Get 'em!" He shouted and plunged forward.

Riddick turned around and watched in interest as the man and woman braced themselves and then started throwing punches in tandem. He found himself impressed despite himself. They were an excellent team. The soldiers advanced as a unit and Riddick grinned. Let the dark haired man and the dark skinned woman deal with the drunks he had a hankerin' to deal with some damn, torturing, asswipes of a military. They'd learn just what it meant to take his woman away and let her think he was dead. It was the only reason she wouldn't have left him some kind of message. Well, he'd find her and here was his first step. Someone had to know something.

His shivs spun into his hands almost without thought. Nearly an extension of his own hands. Memories of other battles and other blood. "Fun times," he remarked softly.

The dark haired man glanced over his shoulder at the nearly inaudible comment and frowned in bemusement. "Knives? For a bar brawl?" He squawked in shock even as his elbow met one drunk's nose.

Riddick shrugged nonchalantly and cracked his neck. "Soldiers," he motioned to the men in the uniforms. "They took somethin' special from me and I aim ta find out where she is." He wasn't sure why he felt the need to explain his actions to this man he knew and yet didn't.

The brown eyes widened a bit and then he nodded a grim cast covering his features. "Carry on then. Have fun. We'll keep these guys offa ya." He tilted his head to indicate the drunks.

Riddick grinned quickly, trusting someone aside from his girl to watch his back for the first time in years. "Much obliged."

**A/N: So there you go. A new story started. Hopefully it has potential. And yes after the fight Mal invites Riddick to join the boat. Let me know what you think.**


	2. Xunlei Ertong

**Chapter One: Xùnléi Ertóng**

Riddick loved the Black. He always had. For as long as he could remember he'd loved it with everything in him. He loved the silence and vastness of it. Comfort and danger in a single glance. "Rick!" Mal's voice called out to him suddenly over the com stuck in his ear. "Quit gawkin' and get to work!" The captain's voice was equal parts amused and irritated. It was a common tone with the other man.

Riddick snorted, completely undaunted by the other man's barking. "I could always put on my own suit and come pull your hose out fer ya," he threatened without any heat. They all knew he would never do it but he still had appearances to keep up.

"Yeah, but you won't," Mal answered easily. He looked up towards his ship from outside as though Riddick could see the arched brow and smug smile. "You don't wanna deal with a pissed off Zoe or a cryin' Kaylee so I figure I'm safe enough."

"'M goin' soft, is what I am," Riddick muttered and leaned a shoulder on the wall beside the airlock. This universe was so much easier than the old one. Or maybe it was just the company he was keeping this time. Good people seemed to infect those near them with their compassion. Or maybe he was just allowing that part of himself more rein lately. Most likely, he thought to himself, his new tolerance had something to do with his girl. "Compartment's open and ready, Mal." He told the captain and watched the small figures through the porthole.

"Good to go," Mal answered and then turned his attention to the vault on the derelict ship. Rick and Wash would keep a watch for anything out of place. It was good to be able to trust his crew. Even Jayne could be trusted now. He wasn't sure when that had happened but he was grateful for it all the same.

"I don't think you're goin' soft, Rick," Kaylee's bright voice said from his side. He turned his head and tilted it in question. "You done skint that purplebelly last week, I heard. He didn't know nothin' but…well, you ain't soft." Her sunny smile took any insult from the words. Her bright eyes matched the smile creasing her lips. She leaned against the bulkhead beside him and waited for his inevitable spluttering.

Riddick flipped off the comm in his ear and lifted the specs from his eyes so he could see her face better in the dim light of the cargo bay. There was no scent of fear to her. She'd never smelled of fear around him. It was almost intoxicating that this bright, shiny, innocent girl showed no fear of him whatsoever. "How in the gorram hell did you find out about that, mei mei (little sister)?" He asked her gruffly.

Her grin grew and gained a bit of mischievousness as well. "I got my ways, ge ge (big brother). And I ain't tellin' what they is." She gave him a stubborn look and crossed her arms over her chest, ignoring the grease smearing her coveralls from the wrench in her hand.

Riddick scowled his fiercest scowl and was unsurprised when it did little more than make Kaylee giggle. "Gorram brat," he muttered. Why had he joined this infernal crew again?

"Aw, you love me," Kaylee giggled again. And that would be one reason why he'd let Mal talk him into joining the crew. The other four were busy elsewhere. He liked that they accepted him. Accepted his silence and his bloodthirst and everything else about him. Mal barely raised an eyebrow at his quest to find River. He'd simply nodded and said it'd be easier to look if he was mobile while doing so.

Before Riddick could confirm or deny Kaylee's accusation alarms blared through the ship. He slapped his hands over his ears, winced in pain as the sound again assaulted his sensitive ears and Kaylee scurried off towards the engine room. Riddick flipped his comm back on in time to hear Mal ordering the ship to go dark. At least that would stop the damned alarms that were giving him a headache.

Riddick stood in the darkness passively, one hand on the airlock controls and the other fingering his shivs. He'd be ready whatever happened though he was fairly sure that the dumbass Alliance cruiser would just fly on by. They nearly always did. _Serenity_ was a small fish in a gigantic pond and usually not worth bothering with.

"Mal, we're humped," Wash's voice rang through the comms. His tone was part fear and part excitement.

Then again, Riddick mused, there were always those Alliance officers that just couldn't stand to let people be. Riddick was already cycling the airlock doors open before Mal drew breath to answer Wash's warning.

"Got 'em, Wash," Riddick said a few moments later as Mal, Jayne and Zoe touched down inside the airlock with the crates from the derelict ship. There was no way Mal was going to leave the loot behind. Badger would be insufferable if they had let the Alliance get it.

"Let's go, Wash," Mal's voice came over the comm as they bumped gently to the floor with the return of gravity. He was already pulling his suit off and reaching for the button to let them out of the airlock.

"Let's moon 'em," Jayne grinned as soon as they were all safely aboard and were shedding the suits.

"Hold on," Wash said, a matching grin in his own voice, and Riddick grasped one of the struts as _Serenity_ sped away from the derelict and the cruiser to brace himself from the inertia that only he seemed to feel.

Riddick picked up one of the crates after his body had adjusted to the increased speed and headed for the smuggler's hold along the side of the cargo bay. "What did we get anyway?" He asked Mal curiously. Mal hadn't told any of them what they were after. Riddick wondered if the captain had known before they retrieved the boxes and thought it unlikely. Badger was a tight-lipped bastard at the best of times.

"Protein bars iffen those manifests were right." Mal's voice floated to him from the stairs behind him as he pushed open the compartment.

Riddick grunted in acknowledgement and dusted his hands off as he turned back to the hold. "Jayne, come help me put these up," he called to the big man who was already hefting a box in his arms.

"Leave one out," Mal ordered with a suspicious look on his face. "I wanna inspect our…appropriated cargo. Make sure it's what it says it is." Badger had been a bit too quick to throw this job at them.

Riddick heaved the second box into his arms and followed Jayne to the hidey hole. After shoving the crate inside the dim space he straightened again and headed for the stairs while Mal, Zoe and Jayne gathered around the last crate. "You do that an' I'll go rustle up some grub," Riddick agreed easily. He kinda liked KP duty here, the crew always seemed to enjoy his culinary efforts. "It's almost dinnertime an' I'm starvin'."

"Sounds good," Mal nodded absently. "Best get on that."

Riddick smirked and loped up the stairs to the galley. He listened quietly to the conversations going on around the ship and shook his head to himself. He had no idea how these people and this ship had wormed their way into his heart but they had. There was a lot he'd do to keep them safe. And there wasn't much they wouldn't do to help him out. He'd find his River sooner or later and then they'd fly away with Mal and the crew to new adventures and a happier life. It was the only hope he had left to cling to. He had to find her because without her all of this was completely meaningless.

**RR/RT RR/RT RR/RT**

Something…it called…something off…

A single discordant note in a symphony. What was it? Why was it wrong? Such a small thing. Something that wouldn't be noticed but…she heard it. Somehow.

So…slow…the thoughts flowing much too fast…can't seem to…grab onto them…something strange…wrong…off…not completely right…what…

She? What is a she? Who was she? So many questions. What were the answers? Everything was so fuzzy. So soft. So slow. Why? Should it be this way? It didn't feel like it should. So why was it? What was wrong?

Deep within the mind of a girl under sedation for cryo sleep a tiny spark began to wake. To sleep like this was to be vulnerable. The girl couldn't be vulnerable. Bad things happened then. The spark of thought became agitated and struggled to wake the body of the girl. Fear made the spark frantic. She mustn't be weak. She had to wake and the fear would be swallowed again. Swallowed by a cold rage that had come from…loss.

But the loss of what? No…not of what. Loss of someone. Fear and sorrow licked at the spark of life. The girl's body knew those emotions and it didn't like them.

The drugs pulled the girl's body back down into their comforting arms. _Sleep, _they whispered. _Sleep._

**RR/RT RR/RT RR/RT**

Riddick truly hated the Eavesdown Docks. They were dusty, noisy and smelled awful. Fuel, different cargos and the unwashed bodies of spacers who were more concerned with saving water than hygiene made the air more foul than it needed to be. But, it was a bustling place and that meant information among other things so he put up with the overwhelming sensations as best he could.

Eyes burning from the dust and nose itching from the foul smells, he leaned against the hull as the ramp lowered to the ground and stared out at the mass of people. Somewhere, maybe here, someone knew something about his girl. Maybe he'd get lucky this time. The WAVE from Kàn Dàole Wèilái was promising. His heart was heavy with longing for her. He'd felt like he was missing his own arm for far too long already.

"You need me for the meet with Badger, Captain?" He asked in a low voice as familiar footsteps approached from the stairs. He kept his voice and words formal as he needed the captain to agree to let him go and Mal could be persnickety if he didn't get his captainy respect. Not that Mal telling him he couldn't go would stop him from seeing Kàn Dàole Wèilái and finding out what the old man knew. He just didn't feel like hearing the ranting he'd have to listen to if he didn't have permission to go.

Mal stopped next to him and cocked his head to the side. He knew very well that Riddick wasn't actually asking permission and was only giving the appearance for form's sake. Still…at least the other man was trying. "Might could do without ya, Rick. Why? You find out somethin' 'bout your girl?" That was the only reason Mal could think of for Riddick to abandon his self-imposed duties.

Riddick cut his eyes towards Mal and then away. Talking about River outside of the ship and dirtside always made him uncomfortable. "Maybe. Not rightly sure but a contact of mine wants to see me." He shrugged and continued to stare out over the heads of the throng of people on the docks.

Mal nodded easily. He knew how Riddick felt about discussing River where someone may overhear them. "Best go see 'em then," he urged. "Know your first priority is her. Just lemme know iffen I gotta take you somewhere." An itching on the back of his neck told him that something was about to change. He rarely ignored that feeling and he really hoped, for the other man's sake, that this time there was news.

"I'll pay for the fuel if you do," Riddick murmured his thoughts already on Kàn and what the old man wanted him for. Mal had long ago noticed the way Riddick's voice became more cultured when he was distracted. He'd never pointed it out and he doubted the man knew about it. Past was past and if the other man had once been like those from the Core then that was his business. "He may have a job for us too," Riddick added though his eyes and tone were far away.

Mal blinked at that information and then brushed it aside. He knew that Riddick wasn't trying to demean him by implying that he couldn't find them jobs but…he wasn't going to accept charity. "A job'd be welcomed, o'course but it ain't necessary, Rick an' I ain't worrying about the fuel. We'll make do. If you get any information on her then you get back here and we'll follow it up." Mal said forcefully. "Get gone now. I'll let the others know." Riddick had told them quite a bit about his girl and what the Alliance had done to her and the stories made all of them determined to find the girl and take her away from those that were tormenting her. The stories also simply reinforced Mal's hatred of the Alliance and all it stood for.

Riddick nodded silently and headed down the ramp. He turned slightly at the bottom and looked back up at the dark haired captain that had given him a home and taken on burdens not his own. "Thanks Mal," he said simply, knowing the man would know exactly what he meant without him having to explain it.

Mal nodded back, a small smile gracing his lips, and Riddick melted into the crowd. Mal wondered how the man could do that so quickly but shook his head at himself immediately after the thought passed through his mind. Rick was a different breed of man and Mal could only be thankful that they had found him before anyone else.

"Where's he goin'?" Jayne suddenly asked from behind Mal. Mal scowled mentally. Trust him to find the only two men in the universe that could sneak up on him. "We got a meet ta git to and he runs off?" Jayne's words were whining but the tone was worried.

"Bi jweh," Mal said mildly, his unconcerned tone reassuring Jayne that all was well. "He's doin' what's gotta be done. This shouldn't take too long. Put us down for departure in about three hours..."

Mal's voice faded out as Riddick drifted further away.

**RR/RT RR/RT RR/RT**

Again the discordant note rang through the space around the girl. The spark of life, of consciousness, of the mind of the girl fought harder. _Find it!_ The spark screamed as loud as it could. But the girl flinched from the sounds and scents and thoughts surrounding her.

So many. So much. Too many thoughts. No sense in the cacophony bombarding her. The spark fled back to the depths in overwhelming fright and confusion. It wasn't time yet.

_Soon_, something whispered to the slumbering girl. _The time is coming. Soon._

**RR/RT RR/RT RR/RT**

The smell of burning incense in Kàn's shop always made his nose itch. He hated that scent but as always he ignored it. "Mornin' Su," he greeted the young woman behind the counter and resisted the urge to rub his nose. "He in?" He didn't need to say who. Su had the same uncanny ability to just know things as her grandfather did.

"Shi," the small rather pretty woman nodded her dark hair swinging over her ears. "He waits for you in the back, Mr. Richard." Her face was calm and blank, giving no clue to her thoughts away. Riddick knew better than to ask if she knew what the old man had for him. She wouldn't tell him and the knowing smirk she gave him when he asked was annoying.

Riddick nodded his thanks to her and made his way to the curtain separating the front and back of the store. "Kàn?" He called softly, not wanting to startle the old man, even though he figured that was an impossible task. Nothing surprised Kàn.

"You are late, Xùnléi Ertóng (Child of Thunder)," the old man's voice answered from the shadows at the back of the room.

Riddick leaned against the wall and stared into the shadows where the voice had come from. "Didn't know I was on a time limit, old man." His gaze shifted to the empty air at his elbow. There was the breath of a breeze and a ripple of movement. Riddick smirked a bit and turned his gaze back to the shadows. "Your tricks are gettin' predictable," he told the shadows in amusement.

The old man chuckled. "Life is finite even for one such as you, Furyan," there was the rustle of cloth as Kàn stepped from the shadows and made his way to a work bench along the back wall. "Everything has a time limit." He motioned for Riddick to come closer to the bench.

Riddick didn't stiffen at the use of the term for his race; he was far too used to Kàn after a year or so of knowing the man. Instead he followed the old man's direction and stood beside him at the bench. Unlike the old man he kept his face turned to the curtain. You never knew who would barge in like they owned the place. "You said you had information about her." He said in a tense voice. His heart rate had sped up on the appearance of the old man. Something, maybe Shirah, maybe some sense handed down by his ancestors, or maybe just his own foolish broken heart, told him that the old man finally knew something about River. Even knowing that he couldn't trust this sense, he couldn't stop the hope from welling within his chest.

"Yesss," Kàn hissed without turning to look at him. He was poking through the clutter on his work table as though searching for something. Riddick heard the small sound of metal clinking against metal. "Information about your River. There was quite a bit of unprecedented activity on Liann Juin in the past week." The old man rarely beat around the bush with his information, though he didn't always give it away in clear, blunt words. "Ships docking and leaving with military accompaniments. More than ever before. As though they had lost something and were trying to find it." Kàn finally turned to face him, his hand clenched in a fist around something he'd picked up from the table. "Your search is almost over, Xùnléi Ertóng. Soon you will be reunited with your heart. Then you will bring her to me. There is much she must learn and I must show her the way through the darkness." He blew into his clenched hand and tilted his head at Riddick like a curious bird.

Riddick straightened and finally faced Kàn fully with his back to the curtain. "Where is she?" He asked tightly. "Do you know where she is now?" The words threatened to become stuck in his throat but he forced them out. "Do you now if she's all right?"

Kàn shook his head regretfully and held out his closed fist to Riddick. "She is hidden from me again," he said. "But she will find you soon. I don't know when but soon, Richard. Take these for her." He pushed his hand towards Riddick again. "Give them to her as soon as you find her. They will help." Riddick held out his hand and a necklace with four metal charms dropped from Kàn's hand to his palm. "Protection, Healing, Strength, and Calm. She will need all of those. Don't forget," Kàn murmured and turned back to his table. "Bring her to me." Then the shadows swallowed him again.

Riddick sighed in mingled irritation and hope and turned away. "Infuriating old man," he muttered under his breath as he passed back through the curtain. "Always riddles. I fucking hate riddles." He ignored Su's giggle as he strode out into the dust and sun of Persephone and headed back to the ship. The necklace glinted in the sun for a moment and he put it over his own head. He may not understand all the old man said but the necklace was for River and he'd carry it until he could give it to her.


	3. Awakening

**Chapter Two: Awakening**

She fought her way to consciousness again. It was so hard but she'd never backed down from a challenge and making Him proud was all. Memories swarmed through her mind like bees around a flower garden. She didn't know if they were her own or someone else's. It was so hard to tell the difference sometimes and He wasn't there to help her sort out the multitude. She knew things and didn't know how she knew them. So many thoughts. Were they hers? If they weren't then who did the thoughts belong too? How could she tell? She didn't know where they all came from. It hurt.

She knew she was a girl. Though she couldn't quite remember what the word meant. Still it was one of the few things she knew that was her own and not someone else's.

She knew she was missing something. Or was it someone? Who? Where did he go? He? Who was he? What was he? But he was Important. She needed him. Needed to know.

She needed to find him. She needed to know where he'd gone. Know why he'd left her alone in this pain. Such confusion. Pain. Sorrow. But why?

The note was off. Just a bit. Something missing. Something not quite right. The symphony was incomplete. Where was the missing note? The discordance? What had made the symphony wrong? So many questions without an answer.

The symphony was all. They symphony of she and…Him. His part was missing. His instruments were silent. Where? He had to be there. She wasn't whole without His notes. She wasn't a girl without Him. What was she? She had to find Him again. She needed His notes.

Eyes of silver. Him? Her? Who? Whose eyes? Such a look in them. Love, affection, pain. Why pain? Who was He? Why did He leave her? The girl needed Him and He'd gone away.

Oh. Sudden grief gripped the girl drowning out all the thoughts, emotions and music. He was gone forever. They had killed Him. Because he loved her. Because he was her friend. They had taken Him. The pain was almost worse than it had been the first time. She had forgotten Him. Forgotten all about the other half of her symphony. The girl hated herself for it. He had deserved better.

She let the sedative pull her back from awareness. Life was too hard without Him there to make it make sense for her. And He would never be there again. Confusion was better than the pain of remembering.

**RR/RT RR/RT RR/RT**

"Gorram riddles and puzzles," Riddick muttered for the thousandth time as he shoved his way through the crowd around the Eavesdown Docks. Gorram people, he cursed in his head. Couldn't they see he was not in the mood to put up with them barring his way? Gorram puzzles was all Kan had given him and he still didn't have more than half an answer to the question of finding his River. Sometimes he hated this system and all it had given him and then taken away. And he always remembered how much he hated God for the same gorram thing.

There had once been a time when people had cowered away from him. He could recall those days with something like fondness here in this system that didn't know him right now. It had been strange at first and difficult to adjust to but he'd come to like the fact that here he wasn't a mass murderer, at least usually. He missed the tang of fear on the air a bit but he liked that someone as pure and innocent as Kaylee had no compunctions about attacking him with hugs and smiles. Still, on days like today he wished people recognized him and cleared paths for him. He was in a bad mood and just wanted to be back in the comfort and familiarity of _Serenity._

"Rick," Kaylee's sunny, happy voice called a greeting to him as he finally made it to the relative peace and quiet around _Serenity_. He breathed in a silent sigh of relief as the comfort wrapped itself around him. His bad mood started to fade. "Did you find out anything?" Her interest was clear in her tone. She really hoped he'd find his girl soon. He was so sad without her. The only time he truly smiled was when he was telling stories about her and even then his smile was always tinged with the sorrow of loss.

Riddick glared at her through the tinted specs, knowing the look wouldn't phase the happy girl in the least. "Only more riddles," he growled out.

Kaylee frowned a bit in empathy and reached out to pat his arm. She really did like the short, gruff man that would give his life to protect them all. "I'm sorry, ge ge (big brother)." Then she used the hand still on his arm for balance and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Don't worry. We'll find her soon enough." She had a good feeling that they were close and even if she was wrong they weren't going to give up.

Riddick shook his head and his glare lessened just a bit as her familiar scent overcame the smells of the docks. "I know," he said softly. He drew in a breath and blinked away the dust in his eyes. "I got you a present," he announced suddenly in an effort to make up for his taking his bad mood out on her even just a little.

"You did?" Kaylee squealed happily, instantly diverted from his moroseness and bounced on her toes. "What? What'd you get me, Rick? C'mon! Gimme!" She was speaking so quickly that her words nearly ran together to be unintelligible.

Riddick couldn't help the chuckle that passed his lips, diverted himself by her excitement. "You're worse than a five-year-old at Christmas, mei mei (little sister)," he teased her, forgetting about riddles and puzzles and the frustration that dogged him for a moment.

Kaylee pouted up at him playfully. "Please?" She pleaded and held her hands out. "Pretty please?" He always gave the best presents. Even if he did make her beg for them every single time.

"All right, all right," Riddick sighed seemingly irritated with her begging but they both knew better. He opened and dug into the bag he'd been carrying. He pulled out something and hid it in his hand. "Close your eyes," he ordered and she did as bid, anxiously awaiting the present he'd brought for her. Riddick gently placed the object in her cupped hands. "You can open 'em now." He said with a slight hint of embarrassment to his tone. He wasn't sure why he always felt shy when he gave her presents. Maybe it was because everyone else just thanked him matter of factly when he gave them a present that he'd picked up at the market and Kaylee made such a big deal out of every cheap little thing that he gave her. He wondered sometimes if River would be like Kaylee. He'd never had the chance to give her a present and he had promised himself to shower her with gifts just to see her reaction when he found her.

Kaylee opened her eyes and stared down at the purple plum in her hands. Her mouth rounded in a perfect 'o' as she stared down at it in astonishment. "A plum? You found plums?" Her voice was breathless with awe. Plums were nearly as hard to come by as strawberries. She didn't even want to think about how ruinously expensive they might have been.

Riddick nodded a bit uncomfortably, he should have gotten used to her reaction to what was to him something so small but he hadn't yet. "I got one for each of us," he admitted and resisted the urge to duck his head like a little boy. "I tried to find some strawberries but the vendor didn't have any left." He hoped that made her a bit less astonished at his gift. She liked strawberries best of all and the fact that he hadn't bought any might check her excitement over the plum…though he doubted it. Kaylee didn't do disappointment.

Kaylee leapt at him and threw her arms around his neck in a tight hug. He really should have been prepared for her attack but he hadn't been and he stumbled back a step before catching himself. "You're the best ge ge ever!" She exclaimed loudly in his ear.

Riddick, wincing at the assault to his sensitive hearing, chuckled deep in his chest and patted her back. "You're welcome, mei mei," he murmured. He refused to admit even to himself that her affectionate nature charmed him.

A throat cleared uncomfortably off to the side of the pair and they both turned to look. "Sorry to interrupt, Miss," the voice was both slightly cold and disapproving and the look in the eyes hidden behind the red tinged specs showed a trace of disgust as they stared at the place where Kaylee was still hanging on him. The young man that addressed them sent a shiver of recognition up Riddick's spine. Riddick took in the elegant clothing and the expensive specs and his shoulders stiffened. He knew men like this and he knew that the man was going to be trouble. "You said that you'd be able to have someone load my belongings?" Something in the inflection of his words seemed familiar in a way that was different from the generalness simply recognizing that the man was from the Core. An incoherent thought nagged at the back of his mind.

Kaylee, seemingly unaware of the young man's disapproval, let go of Riddick and turned to face the young man. "Hey Simon," she greeted him happily in her usual warm tones. "Sure thing. Ge ge, this is one of our passengers, Simon. He's a doctor." She reached over and squeezed his wrist lightly. "Simon this is Rick. He's our security specialist."

Riddick nodded to the newcomer in silent greeting. The doctor stared at him for a moment and then seemed to dismiss him from his mind. Riddick wasn't sure how he felt about that. A few years ago this Corebred boy would have been pissing his pants to even be this close to the Riddick of nightmares. "My belongings are fragile so if you could…" the young man whose name had already slipped from Riddick's mind hesitated as though unsure where to direct his comment.

Riddick grunted to no one in particular and headed up the ramp into the cool interior of the hold. "I'll get Wash," he told Kaylee over his shoulder and made sure to ignore the Corebred idiot pointedly. It's not like Mal would let him kill the kid for his insult and wasn't that a switch from the past. Yes, sometimes he really hated this system and what it had changed in him. There was a time when Mal's disapproval would have made it that much more fun to leave Core blood all over the hold. But…he didn't want to upset Mal or see the respect they all had for him diminish because his bloodlust had let loose on the wrong person.

"Thanks," Kaylee grinned brightly at him, lifted her hand, bit off a piece of the juicy plum and then turned to the doctor. "So…why you wanna go to Boros?" She asked the young man and wiped the juice off of her chin with the back of her hand. She wasn't nearly as oblivious as Rick and the others seemed to think. She didn't miss the hint of disapproval in Simon's eyes for her bad manners or the unwilling desire as his eyes focused on her lips.

Riddick tuned them out, knowing very well that Kaylee had everything with the Core boy well in hand and scanned the dim interior of the cargo bay for the pilot. "Wash?" He called out, hoping the other man was near enough to hear him and not playing with his dinosaurs in the cockpit. There was no answer so Riddick sighed and hit the button for the shipwide comm. That man was such a child. He hated using the ship comm. It always crackled and squealed annoyingly. First thing he'd do when they found River was going to be to have her fix the gorram thing. "Wash, we got cargo to load," he said quickly and then let go of the button hoping futilely that it would keep the crackling to a minimum.

"We hear and obey, O Fearless One," Wash's voice crackled through the comm in the tones that he usually used when he'd been playing with his dinosaurs. Riddick had figured that's where the other man had retreated to.

"You're hilarious," Riddick snorted and then turned as Wash quickly clattered down the steps to the bay. "Head's up, funny man." He dug out another plum and tossed it to the blond man. He wanted to get the awe and gratefulness over with before the others got back. Wash was nearly as bad as Kaylee just in a different way.

Wash caught the small shape without thought and then stared down at it in awe. After a few breaths he looked up from the precious object cradled in his hands and grinned at Riddick. "If I wasn't a happily married man I might kiss you." He stated boldly and started to cross to Riddick.

Riddick took an involuntary step back and held up his hands in a warding off gesture. He didn't think Wash would actually do it but one never knew with the exuberant pilot. "But ya are so you keep them nasty ass lips away, Wash," he said in a low growl with a menacing look on his face. "You know what Zoe would do to both of us iffen she'd heard you say that?"

Wash grinned, completely unintimidated by the ferocious gaze, and nodded. "Laugh," he said with certainty. "And demand that she get to watch." His grin grew at the thought of Zoe's reaction.

Riddick cocked his head in thought and then nodded and sighed in a resigned way. He knew Wash was correct in his assessment and was sure that Zoe would hold that Mare's Leg to his head just to see them do it. "Probably," he agreed unhappily. He headed up the steps as Wash seated himself in the mule. "I'll go put this stuff away. Give me a yell iffen you need any help." He called over his shoulder.

"Sure thing, Rick," Wash called back, started the engine on the mule and drove it from the bay into the dusty aisles of the Eavesdown docks.

**RR/RT RR/RT RR/RT**

It felt quieter now. It was as though she was shielded from the multitude of notes just far enough away to be background noise. Less thoughts seemed to be pushing in at her. But she clung to her sleep. She had no wish to be in a world without Him in it. She didn't want to remember what it had been like before Him. She didn't think she could exist without Him.

_We grieve when the fighting's done, girl, _his voice reminded her. She always heard His voice. It was inside her now. Inside of her heart and her head were the only places in the entire 'Verse that He existed now.

The spark in her mind grew with her anger. They would pay. She would find them and they would pay in blood for His. The blood of her enemies would assuage the bloodlust His death had caused within her. She would take His revenge for Him.

She struggled to calm the bloodlust. It wasn't time yet. She would abide for now. But soon, soon she would wake and then the work began. She would find them. She would avenge Him. She would bathe in their blood and take pleasure in the slaying.

**RR/RT RR/RT RR/RT**

Riddick hurried back down the stairs to the cargo bay after putting his purchases in cold storage. There was more work to be done and no matter what Wash thought he couldn't do it all himself. Jayne was off on the meet and Wash would need his help putting the crates of belongings away whether he would admit it or not. He'd found the easiest way to not offend the pilot's pride was to just do whatever needed doing without comment. It didn't always work but more often than not it did. And even when it didn't he could always try to sweep the dust from the bay.

He kept one eye on Kaylee as she stood on the ramp next to the doctor. What the Hell had she said his name was? Silar, Sylas, Simon, that was it, Simon something. He watched another man trip up the ramp and shook his head. Clumsy ass fool. But it was the doctor that held his attention. What was it about the boy that was so gorram familiar?

A scent caught at his attention and he cocked his head as he stacked the crates against the wall. He took a discrete breath in order to better sniff of the air around their two new passengers.

The clumsy fool smelled of lies, deceit and danger. He cursed inside his head and tried to think of a way to get the man to leave the ship or kill him without raising anyone's suspicions. He didn't want any trouble though. He just wanted to find his girl and keep her safe. Maybe he'd just wait until they were in the Black. If he could get the man alone and find out what and who he really was then he'd be able to talk Mal around. Maybe Mal would even let him gut the other man instead of just pushing him out of the airlock.

Kaylee's small sound of pleasure drew his gaze and her smile nearly blinded him. He would never understand how she could be so happy all the time. But at least he knew what she was so happy about this time. Mal and the others must be back from Badger's. Kaylee was always happy to see everyone even if they'd only been gone a few minutes. It astounded him sometimes how accustomed to her complete joy he'd become.

Riddick kept one eye on what he was doing and the other on Kaylee introducing Mal to the doctor. This was going to be amusing. The barely restrained sneer on the doctor's face registered to both Mal and Riddick. That was not going to go down well with Mal. Mal ignored it though…mostly and only welcomed the man aboard _Serenity. _Riddick smirked to himself. Mal was going to charge that boy through the nose for his temerity. Or he was just going to be an ass to the kid.

Riddick tuned them out as he studied the Core doctor. Prissy, soft, and lying about something. Wonderful. There was no scent of maliciousness or danger about him though. Fear was there though. He'd expected that anyway. Core boys didn't do well out on the Rim. They were unprepared for the harshness of life out here and usually died quickly or fled back faster.

The Preacher that had just boarded smelled of lies as well. But his were old…dusty almost. Still even old lies and sins could come back to haunt a body. They could come back around and bite everyone on the ass. This was gonna be a fun trip. With a voyage Corewards after it. Mal was gonna hit the roof. Maybe he should just keep his mouth shut about Kan.

"Rick?" Mal's voice was quiet, not a whisper but not a normal volume either. "What'd you find out?" His brown eyes were so gorram interested that Riddick found himself compelled to tell Mal the truth.

"Liann Juin," Riddick said just as softly. He bit his tongue and scowled at the affect Mal had on him. He quickly tried to cover up his eagerness to go to the Core. "But she's maybe gone from there."

Mal gave him a steady look that said he knew Riddick was trying to dissuade him from assisting. "Is she really?" He asked in a level tone.

Riddick sighed and shrugged. "Kan says she isn't there. At least I think that's what he meant." He shook his head with an indifferent look that he hoped hid his uncertainty. "Still should go have a look." He finally relented as Mal continued to give him that steady stare. "Tanks is full up so's we can head that way after Boros iffen you're willing." He bargained in the hopes that it would be unnecessary but knowing that he had to follow every lead he could get. He missed her so much it was a constant ache.

Mal finally lost his steady look and grimaced at the thought of heading Coreward. "An' iffen we ain't willin' to head towards the Core and the gorram Feds?" He knew they'd go that way though. They were all committed to helping Rick find his other half. Then the rest of Riddick's words penetrated. "An' what you mean the tanks is full?" He glared at the shorter bald man. "You done paid for them to be filled didn't you?" He crossed his arms over his chest and upped his glare. He knew he couldn't really intimidate Riddick but he could gorram sure try and sometimes Riddick even let him believe it was working.

Riddick shot him a wry glance, not even pretending to be affected by the glare this time, before rolling his eyes and shrugging. "Then we shake hands on Boros and be on our merries." He gave out a huff of amusement at Mal's posturing. "What? You think I'm gonna be mad cuz you don't like the Core. I wouldn't go there iffen I didn't need to. I ain't gonna go off on ya iffen you don't wanna take me into what might just be a fight that you don't stand a chance of winning and isn't yours in the first place." He matched Mal's stance and simply stared at him for a long moment.

Mal finally sniffed a bit in derision and relaxed his muscles. He'd made his point. "Like we'd just let you go off on your own into certain death. We'll take you to Liann Juin once we're finished on Whitefall and Boros. An' we'll be having a talk about you takin' liberties with my ship. Yer crew. Ain't your responsibility to fuel her up." He wanted that fact out there…again. He didn't actually expect Rick to ever listen but it never hurt to try. Maybe once they found Rick's girl she could rein him in some.

Riddick's eyes rolled again. Mal was so gorram touchy sometimes. "Much obliged and sure we will, Mal. I'm still gonna fill _Serenity_ up iffen it looks like we gotta make a run for my purposes with no job at either end," he growled out. It wasn't like he didn't have the money. He'd been shocked as Hell when he'd gone to the bank to open an account after Mal had hired him on and found out that Vaako had already done so and left him enough money to live comfortably for a great many years.

He turned to head back to work stowing the passenger's possessions and then stopped suddenly and turned back to Mal. "Whitefall?" He asked with just a note of incredulousness in his tone. He had to have heard Mal wrong. He'd been shot the last time the crew had been on Whitefall. Some bitch had taken a dislike to something and had shot Mal and now he wanted to go back?

Mal scowled at him. "Don't you start too," he ordered in an almost whining tone. "You weren't even workin' for me then. How'd you find out?" His voice was dubious and a bit suspicious. Which one of his crew had been telling tales?

"Zoe told me 'bout Patience the first month I was flyin' with you. I'm the closest thing you got to a medic. Zoe reckoned it was need to know." Riddick explained with a dark, sardonic grin. "Funny as all Hell too." It really was…Mal hadn't been too badly hurt according to Zoe's account and he was actually relieved he wasn't the only one that had wanted to shoot Mal on occasion.

Mal grumbled under his breath about traitorous crews and headed towards the stairs to join Zoe. Riddick smirked and then sighed in resignation. If they were headed to Whitefall then he'd better triple check the Med Supplies. There was no telling what trouble Mal would get them into this time. It was always better to be prepared for anything with Mal leading the way. The man just seemed to attract trouble like a flower attracts bees. Had the same gorram sting too.

**RR/RT RR/RT RR/RT**

It was the sound of the drums that finally fully woke her mind. The pounding beat throbbed through her blood. Moved it faster and faster and hotter through her veins. Forced the drugs that kept her asleep to pass through her system more quickly than could be anticipated. The cacophony of sound that only she could hear played along her senses and demanded that she awake and pay attention to their music.

She knew somehow that she was not yet fully awake, no matter how her body was demanding that she take action at the sound of the drums. However she was not fully asleep either. She was somewhere in between. Somewhere in the twilight where she could hear the drums and their accompanying melodies from other instruments but could not respond to them. Nor could she distinguish them into individual notes. It was frustrating to hear the music and not be able to join in it with her own notes.

She felt so weak and stupid. She knew it was only the drugs and the long sleep that made her feel that way but she still hated it. She needed to be faster, stronger. There was something important in the pounding drums that she couldn't quite grasp. The underlying music was carrying a message that she couldn't interpret and it was driving her nuts. She needed to be able to understand the message.

_Ignore the noise and concentrate, wǒ de xiǎo ài (my little love)._ She heard His voice tell her. She always heard him. Even though he was no longer there she still heard his voice in her mind. And it always broke her heart that little bit more. The part of her that was the girl she had once been wanted to curl up in the dark and just let everything pass by as she hid away. The Weapon that they had tried to make her into cautioned against the excess of emotion that would be to her detriment in this situation. And the part of her that was the Warrior she had been with him wanted to lash out at the entire 'Verse for taking him from her. She hated that none of the parts of her agree on anything. _River!_ The part of her that was His spoke sharply and she pushed the other parts away.

She tried to do as he'd bid her so many times in the past but the drugs still lingering in her blood stopped her efforts cold. She giggled in her head at the irony of that. She knew she was supposed to be deep in cryo sleep. The drugs…someone had given her to keep her quiet and still were still affecting her more than she'd like to admit. Why had they drugged her? Was she being transported somewhere new?

A fragment of a memory flitted inside her broken mind. A face. Simon. Simon had come for her. To rescue her. But it was too late. She wasn't the girl he remembered anymore. And her Warrior was gone forever leaving her broken beyond all redemption. Simon hadn't realized yet how broken she was but when he did…he'd do his best to fix her and then try to protect her from everything, including herself, when he eventually acknowledge that there would be no fixing her. Maybe he would pump her full of enough drugs to let her forget her grief. Though she didn't believe there were enough drugs for that…maybe…

_Distraction will get you killed, ni zi (little girl)._ His voice again drifted through her consciousness. She huffed at it in exasperation. Maybe that's what she was hoping for. Maybe she just wanted to join Him. She couldn't do this without Him.

She could hear His wordless growl at her but she ignored it. He was gone. Dead. Left her forever to the voices and sounds in her own head. Left her alone and nearly helpless. He had no right to order her around anymore. Not that she'd ever truly allowed him to order her around in the first place. She hadn't been obedient when He'd been with her, what made Him think she would be not that His voice was only a memory in her head.

The drums seemed to beat a little louder and she let the throbbing flow through her. Let it heat her blood and speed her heart. Let it push the drugs from her even faster…she hoped. She didn't like cryo in the first place. Now with all the warrior drums beating around her she liked it even less. She should be with them. Fighting, dying, living, whichever. She was a Warrior with her own drums and she wanted to match to theirs. The drums told her they would fight with and for her. They weren't like the others. They weren't like the Silent Ones, the Hands of Blue, or the feeble ones, the Teachers and Doctors. True warriors surrounded her, called to her. Wanted her to join them, offered to help her in her quest to fill the 'Verse with the blood of those that had hurt her and taken Him away.

Soon, something told her, soon she would join the symphony outside of her box. Soon she would once again be a part of a whole. But for now she would lie inside her prison of cryo sleep and drugs and wait. Wait for one of them to wake her. And one of them would. Long before Simon thought wise. They would pull the girl from her box and set her free again. All would be well…or as well as it could be without her Warrior. Which wasn't actually well at all…but at least better than alone.

Her heart ached at the thought but she ignored it. Her Warrior may not be outside her box but He would always be in her heart and head. And she would rain vengeance down on those that had taken him from her. Eventually.


	4. Passengers and Cargo

**Passengers and Cargo**

"Ladies and gentlemen we have left Persephone and are now in the Black. Will all personnel and passengers please report to the galley as soon as possible? Thank you and welcome aboard _Serenity."_ Wash's voice crackled over the comm and Riddick shook his head in amusement. The Med Bay was as stocked as he could make it and they were thankfully not running short on anything…yet. They would soon though. They nearly always did and Mal had a queer predilection to getting himself or Jayne shot on a regular basis.

Taking a deep breath as he left the Med Bay Riddick prepared himself to face the stench of lies in the galley. That stench was the only real problem with running with this particular crew. Mal was so steeped in emotional pain and lies that when Mal started thinking about certain things it was almost unbearable to be around him. Made his nose itch every gorram time. And every single member of the crew was hiding something from all the others.

Well, he corrected his own thoughts, except Kaylee. That girl couldn't hide anything to save her life and wouldn't understand why she should either. She could lie and cheat with the best of them if she wanted to, not that she ever really did, but she'd never do that to crew. It was something that was anathema to her. She was the most innocent and loyal person he'd ever met.

The crew's secrets weren't harmful or bad really except to themselves, he knew that. Still, sometimes it made it hard on him to be around them no matter how used to it he'd become. Especially when they all thought on their secrets at the same time. He'd retreat to his bunk on those evenings and bury his nose in the pillow he swore would smell of Her someday. He'd imagine she was there with him and he'd block out all the sounds and smells of the ship until he was steeped in his memories of Her.

He shook off those memories now and headed up the stairs. He couldn't be distracted from his job right now. She'd be there later when he wasn't tasked with sniffing out the trouble these three passengers were going to bring the ship.

The added stench of the three travelers with them on this trip was going to be nearly unbearable. He thought he probably could have handled the preacher but the other two set his teeth on edge. Whatever they were hiding it was big and most likely a danger to his crew. Something would have to be done about them. The only question was what? Mal would be really put out if he just killed the two men without any evidence aside from his sense of smell. Not that that would normally stop him from ghosting the two men but…he liked his crew and he didn't want any of them to have second thoughts about his place among them. River would need a safe place when they found her and this was the safest place in the 'Verse. He'd need to think how to convince Mal that at least those two needed to be shivved and needed it soon.

Once inside the galley with the rest Riddick stood with his back to the wall behind the rest of the crew as Mal addressed their passengers. He watched each of their passengers to note their reactions to Mal's overrehearsed speech. They'd need to either start picking up passengers more often so that Mal could get some practice at being genial or stop taking any altogether. Personally, Riddick voted for the second choice. Passengers brought trouble.

"So meals are taken up here, in the dining area," Mal told them with an aborted wave of his hand. Riddick hid his smile at Mal's uncomfortableness, the man wasn't hiding it very well. "Kitchen's pretty much self-explanatory." The doctor looked around him with a faint hint of distaste around his mouth and eyes. Boy had probably never even been in a kitchen. Rich Core boy like him probably didn't even know what a kitchen was. "You're welcome to eat what there is any time, long as it isn't marked with someone's name anyway," Mal caught Riddick's eye and nodded just a bit.

Riddick was grateful for the clarification. Since coming to this universe he'd found a few foodstuffs that just didn't sit right with his Furyan digestion. The last thing he wanted while they had passengers was to break out in red sores or become incoherent and see things because he'd eaten something that reacted badly with his DNA. It hadn't been a fun experience before and he wasn't anxious to try it again. There weren't many things that he was allergic to and most of them weren't even on the boat anymore. But with his luck one of the passengers would have brought some cumin or nasturtium on board and he'd need his emergency food supply.

"What there is, is pretty standard fare, I guess. Protein in all the colors of the rainbow." Mal continued. He either ignored, most likely, or didn't see, less likely, the moue of disgust both the doctor and the salesman made. Riddick held back a snort at their reactions. What'd they think they was signin' up for? Fancy core boy doctor he could almost understand but the other one? Yeah his reaction didn't fit with his story at all. Something smelled way wrong with that one. "We do have sit down meals—next one being at about 1800."

"I think Shepherd Book and Rick have offered to help me prepare something," Kaylee told everyone with a soft smile and a look in her eyes for Richard that told him he'd better help or they'd all starve. It wasn't the Kaylee couldn't cook it was that Richard was a better chef than anyone else on the boat.

Richard groaned loudly in object if only because he knew their passengers expected him too. "Do I have to?" He growled out in a tone that verged on whining. "I hate cookin'." His own lie tasted like paint on his tongue. He didn't like lying but he'd do it to keep the passengers in the dark. And they needed to be in the dark for a while longer. They couldn't be trusted and they needed to see what they wanted to see.

"You wanna eat then you help out, an' you know it," Mal rolled his eyes at Rick in exasperation and then turned to the Shepherd. "You're a shepherd?" His voice carried just a hint of wariness. Mal didn't like anything to do with God. The way he saw things God had betrayed him once and he wasn't going to give the Big Guy another chance. On that he and Riddick were in complete agreement. Riddick didn't care much for the Big Guy either.

"I thought the outfit gave it away," Book grinned amiably. The grin slowly faded at the look on Mal's face. "Is it a problem?" He asked the question half defiantly and half hesitantly.

"Of course not," Kaylee said before either of the two men who might object could say anything. "It's not a problem, cuz it's not." She threw Riddick and Mal a look daring them to disagree with her. Riddick wanted no part of Kaylee being mad at him so he just crossed his arms over his chest and slouched back against the bulkhead, his silence his only sign of acceptance. Mal shuffled his feet for a moment and then sighed in resignation; he didn't like Kaylee being angry with him either.

"No," Mal directed to the shepherd in a curt tone that said that it was a problem but he wasn't going to make an issue of it. "As I said, you're welcome to visit the dining area anytime. Apart from that, I have to ask you to stay in the passenger dorm while we're in the air." The doctor stiffened at this news and Riddick turned most of his attention to the boy. His body language and scent spoke of nervousness and worry and fear. What the Hell was the boy hiding? "The bridge, engine room, cargo bay—they're all off limits without an escort." Mal had apparently missed the boy's reaction.

"Some of my personal effects are in the cargo bay," the doctor said with studied casualness. Riddick nearly sneezed at the pepper smell of his lie. The boy wasn't exactly lying, his personal effects were in the cargo bay but that wasn't what the kid was worried about. He was really starting to dislike this doctor and damned if he could remember the boy's name.

Mal finally noted the forced nonchalance and his eyes flicked to Riddick, a question in their brown depths. Riddick nodded slightly in answer. He'd keep a very close eye on the kid.

Mal pasted on a smile that didn't look as forced as Riddick knew it was. "I figure you all got luggage you're gonna need to get into," he informed the passengers in an apologetic kind of voice that was as assumed as his smile. "Soon as we're done here, we'll be happy to fetch 'em with you." Mal straightened with a sigh and took a step away from the counter he'd been leaning against. "Now, I have to tell you all one other thing and I apologize in advance for the inconvenience. Unfortunately, we've been ordered by the Alliance to drop some medical supplies off on Whitefall." Dobson stiffened a bit this time and Jayne nodded when Mal's eyes flicked to him. Looked like both gunhands had babysitting assignments this trip. Gorram ruttin' passengers, Riddick thought annoyed. "It's the fourth moon of Athens. It's a little out of our way, but we should have you on Boros no more than a day off schedule," Mal ignored the glowering of both his gun hands and finished his speech.

"What medical supplies?" The doctor asked curiously. Damn nosy bastard, Riddick sneered in his thoughts. Didn't he understand that out here in the Black and on the Rim people kept their secrets and others didn't pry? Most likely as the doctor was from the Core the kid probably didn't get that small fact of life, Riddick thought idly. People on the Core were notoriously gossipy. Not that the Rim was truly much better but people did tend to mind their own business.

Mal stared at the doctor for a long moment as if he couldn't quite understand the question or the reason it had been asked and then shrugged. "I honestly didn't ask," he said. His tone was hard and did not encourage further questioning. It wouldn't have stopped Riddick but then he wasn't a Core bred doctor either. There wasn't much that would stop him when he wanted information about something.

Zoe, figuring correctly the Captain's answer wasn't going to stop the kid's questions, took a step forward to stand beside Mal and gazed at the doctor with a blank face. "It's probably plasma, insulin—whatever they ain't got enough of on the border moons," she told him in a knowledgeable voice. She would know, Riddick acknowledged. Zoe was space born and most likely knew more about trading with Rim planets than anyone else in the 'Verse.

Mal shot the doctor a wry look like he thought the kid should know this stuff already. It was fairly common after all. "Alliance says jump…" Mal let the quote go unfinished. He hated the Alliance but he wasn't above using them for his own purposes or pretending to go along if it helped the boat out.

The doctor gazed at Mal with a half confused and half disbelieving expression but the kid must have decided to leave it alone because all he said was: "All right." Riddick's tense posture relaxed just a bit as the kid looked down again.

Mal turned to regard Zoe, one eyebrow cocked in exasperation for her explaining what shouldn't need it. "Zoe, Rick, you want to take them to the cargo bay?" He ordered more than asked. The smell of his irritation and uncomfortableness was burning in Riddick's nostrils.

"Yes sir," they both assented easily. Zoe shrugged lightly at Mal and her lips quirked just a bit. It was her job to watch his back after all. Even when he was being a Juéjiàng de shǎguā (stubborn idiot). Especially then actually.

"Anything else you need, just ask," Mal commented to the passengers as Zoe motioned for them to follow her. "We, uh, live to serve." Riddick nearly snorted in laughter. If any of them bought that line then they were a lot dumber than they looked. And as the clumsy salesman and the doctor already looked pretty dumb…well. Oh this was gonna be a fun trip…and with a lead to track down finally after it was looking to be a pretty tense few weeks.

**RR/RT RR/RT RR/RT**

Riddick watched the doctor closely if subtly as the kid gathered a few toiletries from his baggage. It wasn't hard to keep one eye on the kid; he was completely oblivious to his surroundings. He had this single minded focus that seemed to black out everything that wasn't concerned with him at that exact moment. The only suspicious thing the doc did was continue to keep his eyes locked on one of his boxes. That could bear some investigating. It was a rather large box and looked to be carrying some kind of furniture or equipment. What was in that box that was so very important? And did it have anything to do with the lies and danger the kid was carrying around with him?

The clumsy salesman whose name Riddick hadn't heard or bothered to ask after tripped over the doc and Riddick heard Jayne's soft snort behind him. Both men were taking their babysitting duties seriously as they always did when Mal set them a job. Though he knew Jayne didn't see the point of the activity. The salesman was a klutz and seemed a bit slow on the uptake. Jayne didn't think he was any kind of a threat but Riddick knew the biggest threat was the one you didn't recognize until it slit your throat. By then it was too late. And he had no intention of losing any of his new family to a threat that hid…or well any threat at all if he could help it.

Shepherd Book, the one passenger that none of them were watching warily, grabbed a few foodstuffs from his luggage and delivered them to Kaylee with a gentle smile. Kaylee grinned happily as she accepted them and led him towards the galley again chattering the whole way.

Riddick heard the quiet whine of the shuttle engines and the click of the docking hatch as Inara came on board. Moments later her shuttle door opened onto the gangway that connected the two shuttles and the cargo bay and Riddick studiously avoided looking in her direction. Mal was touchy about the companion. Really touchy. He was going to do something stupid and Riddick couldn't afford to burst into laughter while he was trying to do his job. Mal was an idiot when it came to Inara and he always found it spectacularly amusing. Nearly everyone on the boat did. And none of them had ever clued Mal in on his idiocy, it was too gorram funny letting him fumble his way through. He figured Inara knew how amusing everyone found the captain's reactions to her but she never stopped them so she must enjoy the humor as well.

Eventually everyone left the cargo bay and Riddick stood on the catwalk staring at the box that had been the focus of the doctor's attention. What was so important about that box? He wondered. It was giving him an itch on the back of his neck and he wasn't sure he liked the sensation. It was just a crate, he tried to tell himself. Except he couldn't force himself to believe it. The crate seemed innocuous but inside was something the doc thought was important. Extremely important. Riddick had a strange feeling it was more than important. Something in that box was precious and he aimed to find out what it was. He'd never been one to deny his own curiosity.


	5. Finding Her

**Finding Her**

Riddick trailed the doc back towards the passenger cabins and then veered off towards the galley. He needed to talk to Mal. He'd need to talk the other man into letting him take a peek into that crate.

"You seen the captain?" He asked Kaylee.

Kaylee shook her head and grinned at him. "Look Rick," she held out a hand. "Shepherd Book brought some strawberries. Want one?"

Riddick pulled the berry from her fingers and smirked at the Shepherd. "So that's why I couldn't find any at the market," he commented before biting the berry in two. "It's good." He nodded. "I'll be back to help in a bit. Gotta find the cap first."

"I believe I saw him heading towards his quarters," Book put in helpfully. He held out a hand to shake. "Shepherd Book, Mr…"

Riddick eyed the hand for a moment and then grasped it in his own. "Jus' call me Rick," he intoned. "Ever'body does."

Book nodded easily. "And I am called Book," he smiled pleasantly.

Riddick let his hand go and headed for the crew quarters to find Mal. Book made him feel just a little uncomfortable. There was something about that Shepherd that was different.

"An interesting man," Book commented to Kaylee as they watched Riddick walk away. "A most interesting man. Now," Riddick heard his hands clap together. "Let's see what spices I have, shall we?"

**RR/RT RR/RT RR/RT**

"Mal," Riddick said lowly to the captain as he passed him on the stairs from the crew cabins up to the galley and passenger area. "I need some alone time in the hold." He gave a quick glance around to make sure that doctor and the salesman weren't anywhere nearby.

Mal stared at him for one long moment and then smirked in genuine amusement. "I do believe you have a bunk fer that sorta thing, Rick." He leaned one shoulder on the bulkhead and fixed Riddick with a knowing look and sparkling eyes.

Riddick frowned at him even as a curl of amusement danced within him. "You think yer so funny," he growled in mock offense. "No, the doc's hidin' somethin' in that box a his. I aim to find out what it is." He eyed Mal as the other man's countenance lost its humor and became more serious. He smirked a bit in satisfaction. "Now you gonna keep them passengers outta there so's I can have me a look or am I gonna lock 'em in their cabins?"

Mal leaned against the railing and grinned a bit maliciously. "You mean you ain't gonna just shiv him and take the box? I am impressed, Rick. Yer growin' as a person." His voice was sarcastic but Riddick could hear the underlying pride. It was rather disconcerting that this man had a bit of paternal pride for him. He knew that Mal didn't actively see him as a son but sometimes the feelings scented his skin.

Riddick casually leaned against the other bulkhead and pulled out one of his knives. He flicked his thumb against the edge and leveled a look at Mal from behind his tinted glasses. He hated wearing the damn things on the boat but with the passengers he had no choice. "Well, I ain't kilt you yet so I think I'm makin' progress." He grinned toothily.

Mal eyed the knife and the blood thirsty grin, straightened and stepped to the side so that the salesman could make his way past them towards the galley. "You can come to dinner late, Rick, so's you can take care of that issue we were speakin' of," he told Riddick. "An' put that away before you scare someone."

Riddick hadn't missed the way the salesman had skirted around him without taking his eyes off of the knife in Riddick's hand. "You just take the fun outta everythin'," Riddick complained loudly. "I ain't kilt anyone in a week, Captain. A whole gorram week."

Mal and Riddick both saw the doc's eyes widen and his steps slowed for a moment before he too hurried past them. Mal rolled his eyes and then leaned on the railing next to Riddick. "Take a comm with you and use it," he ordered. "Iffen it's dangerous…space it. Or hide it iffen it's valuable."

Riddick nodded, he'd more than half expected that instruction. "An' iffen it's both?"

Mal sighed in exasperation and rolled his eyes at Riddick. "Well, that'd be why yer takin' a comm with you." He shook his head at Riddick's deliberate obliviousness and headed away from the hold.

**RR/RT RR/RT RR/RT**

Riddick hid himself in the shadows outside the galley and listened as the crew and passengers settled in for dinner. He leaned against the bulkhead and waited. He wanted everyone engrossed in the food before he made a move for that crate.

It didn't take very long. "I'm goin' now," he whispered into the comm. "Keep 'em busy."

"Sure thing, Rick," Wash answered. The others were all in the galley with the passengers and so couldn't answer him. Not that he'd expected them too. "Be careful," Wash warned him. "You never know it could be a dinosaur or something."

Riddick chuckled as he descended the stairs to the hold. "It'd be a pretty tiny dinosaur, Wash." He stopped for a moment and listened in the silence of the hold. He could hear the conversation up in the galley but no one was down here.

Feeling an anticipation that he had no explanation for Riddick crept up to the crate. He pushed aside a box that had somehow appeared on top of it he studied the crate. His brow furrowed in thought and then he gasped. "Go se!" He cursed. "Send me Jayne, Mal. It's a cryo box. The kind they use to ship slaves."

He heard Mal's low growl. Jayne said something crude about Kaylee wishing the doctor was a gynecologist. Riddick's brow furrowed again. There was no call to upset Kaylee too. Mal took the opening and sent Jayne away from the table. Riddick studied the controls of the box while he waited for the other man.

Jayne's loud steps on the metal stairs soon heralded his arrival. "What did you need me fer, Rick?" Jayne asked and came to a stop next to the shorter man.

"See these?" Riddick asked and tapped some glowing numbers on the top of the box. Jayne nodded. "Means the box is timed. Looks like it ain't supposed to open until Boros."

"Rick," Jayne started hesitantly. "Ya need Kaylee fer this. I ain't exactly mechanically inclined. I don't have no idea how ta open this here box."

Riddick shook his head. "I can open it," he assured the taller man. "But…whoever is in here has a really good chance of goin' into shock once we pull them out. I need you to close it back up while I get 'em up to the med bay." Jayne started to shake his head. "I'll show you what to do an' then you just need ta do it." He turned his head and stared into Jayne's eyes. "We have to hide this person. This is a slave box, Jayne. Slavers is the worst of the worst an' you know it."

Jayne shook his head again and backed up a step. "Where we gonna hide 'em? There ain't nowhere on this boat that'll keep 'em safe while we deal with the doc. Med bay's got glass walls."

"Cap says pull 'em out," Zoe's voice came over the comm. "Keep 'em safe and we'll deal with the rest when it comes. But pull 'em out. Ain't no one allowed to bring slaves onto this ship."

"You got it, Mal," Riddick said. He pulled Jayne back over to the box and showed him how to reprogram the box once he'd taken the occupant out. "We're gonna have to be fast. Pop the box and then I'll pull 'em out and make a run for it. Hopefully, they won't scream."

Jayne nodded his head and stood to the side to catch the lid of the box. "Ready," he said with only a bit of reluctance.

Riddick flexed his fingers and shoulders and then hit the emergency release button. The lid popped open and Jayne pulled it off. They both waved at the fog that rolled out and Riddick reached for the body inside.

Inches from her flesh Riddick's hands froze and he inhaled deeply. His eyes widened behind his tinted glasses. "River," he breathed out and stared down at the girl curled in the box in shock.


	6. Hiding Her

**Hiding Her**

Jayne had never seen that look on Rick's face. It was a mixture of shock, hope and confusion. He looked down at the form of the girl in the box. She didn't look like much but even he knew that some of the best things came in small packages. And he knew exactly who she was.

"Rick? Jayne?" Wash's voice crackled over the comm. "What's happening? What is it? What's in the box?"

"Rick's girl," Jayne breathed softly. "She's here." He shook off the shock and put a hand on Rick's shoulder giving him a good hard shove towards the box. "Get her already. She's gonna wake up and scream the place down, Rick. Ya gotta get her outta here fore that happens." Jayne didn't believe in luck but he couldn't help thinking that this was the best luck the crew had had in a very long time. Once Rick actually realized what had happened he'd be whole again. Jayne smiled to himself. Having two assassins on board was gonna be interesting and maybe the girl could spar with Rick now. "Go on."

Rick nodded numbly and reached for her again. As though a switch had been flipped as soon as his hands touched her flesh he seemed to fill with purpose. He quickly drew her out of the box and sped for the crew quarters ignoring Jayne, ignoring everything except the girl cradled to his chest. "I'll be in my bunk," he told them all. "Indefinitely."

Jayne watched the shorter man as he fled the hold and shook his head. "Good thing them bunks is sound proofed. She looks like a screamer." He smirked to himself as he reset the box. That doctor had better not have done anything to the girl or Rick was gonna get blood all over the place and then Mal and Kaylee would be pissed. "Go se," he sighed. "Hope we got some bleach or somethin'. Cuz you know what's gonna happen iffen that doc's a bad one."

Wash gave out a small laugh. "Maybe she'll keep his…um…baser instincts in check," his tone gave lie to that belief.

"I wouldn't count on it," Zoe's voice came through. "But we'll see won't we?"

**RR/RT RR/RT RR/RT**

The symphony had changed. The notes were different and yet not different at all. She knew those notes. The harmony that matched with her own so well. But that was not possible. Unless there was…but she had never told anyone about the music she heard all the time. Richard was the only one she'd ever told and even then it hadn't been out loud for fear that the Silent Ones would hear and tell the others. It couldn't be a trick but it couldn't be real. Her Riddick was gone. Forever. Right?

**RR/RT RR/RT RR/RT**

Riddick ripped the comm from his ear. Normally the antics of the crew amused him but he wanted no witnesses to what was surely going to be a rousing fight. River was not going to be happy when she woke. She was most likely going to be scared and confused. With River that meant she was going to come up fighting.

He set her gently on his bunk and then stared down at her for a moment. His lips twitched up in a smile as he thought about fighting with her. She was one of the few people in this 'Verse that could go against him and win. She didn't always but she normally gave him a good fight. Of course she was a government trained psychic assassin so it only made sense that she could hand him his ass on a plate sometimes.

Suddenly he thumped down onto the floor and reached out a trembling hand to the girl on his bunk. "River," he whispered painfully. She was here. His brain filled with questions and thoughts and spun in fifty different directions at once. His River was here with him.

How was she here? Was she really real? He didn't know how to answer the first question but the second…He shuffled forward until he was kneeling next to the bunk. Cautious fingers reached out and traced the shell of her ear, her cheekbone and jaw. Warm, supple flesh greeted those fingers. "River."

Her smooth brow furrowed and she whimpered while shifting a bit on the blankets. He grabbed a blanket from the end of the bunk and threw it over her to keep her from getting too chilled. It really was her, he thought to himself. Here in his bunk. He knew he was thinking in circles but none of his dreams or wishes had ever come true before.

She whimpered again and shivered. "Shh, bao bei," he murmured to her and smoothed a hand through her dark hair feeling the new scars beneath her shiny locks. Anger at the bastards swept through him but he shoved it aside to simmer. They'd get them in due course. Now was not the time. "I'm here."

Without a warning she suddenly bolted upright and one of her small hands met his chest in an open handed blow that knocked him back against the cabin wall. "Richard!" She screamed out in anguish.

Unseeing brown eyes met his and then she huddled back in the corner of his bunk. She curled herself as small as possible and started muttering under her breath in Chinese. Her voice was too fast and soft for him to make out the words.

Riddick shook his head to clear the ringing in his ears. A quick inventory proved that while she had bruised him she hadn't caused any real damage with her hit. It would be difficult to breathe for a few hours and deep breaths were out for a day or two but he was otherwise unharmed. "River," he said again and scrambled to his knees and then to the bunk ignoring the pain. "River," he repeated and reached out for her. "C'mon, bao bei, come back to me."

Her muttering stopped. He held his breath in hope. Slowly her head rose and she stared at him with blank brown eyes. "The girl knows that voice. She hears it waking or sleeping. It haunts her dreams, her memories, her everything. Her Warrior has gone to his Maker. The voice is not real. The girl has lost connection to reality and must…must…" she frowned in confusion. "It is not real. The girl promised her Warrior that she would make them all bleed for him. And then she will join him." She blinked and continued to stare at him calmly even as shivers wracked her body.

"I ain't dead yet, little witch," he rumbled and slowly reached out a trembling hand to her. "I'm here. They couldn't take me from you completely. I've been…I searched for you."

River cocked her head to the side and eyed the hand he held in front of her. Quicker than a cat she reached out and grasped it, pulling it towards her and studying it intently. "She bit him here," her nimble fingers traced over a half moon scar between his thumb and index fingers. "They sparred and he meant to silence her. It did not work. She made him bleed. He laughed. She remembers his laugh." She drew in a sharp breath and pulled him closer while she leaned forward to inspect his arm. A scar high on his shoulder caught her attention and she leaned close to him. "And here. She accidently stabbed him when he surprised her. She thought he was a guard. She lashed out and slashed his shoulder with the shiv he made for her. He laughed then too. He always laughs when she hurts him."

Riddick let out a small chuckle and nodded. "I do, little witch" he agreed. "And you always sigh when I hold you. And then you melt against me as though we could become one entity. You hum when I brush your hair and you bite and claw like a little wildcat when you're cornered."

Riddick grunted as his back connected hard with the deck and he found himself with an arm full of excited teenager. "The Riddick is not gone from her," she said over and over and she stroked her fingers over every inch of his face.

"Never, my River," he promised as he wrapped his arms tightly around her slim form. "I'll never leave you again."


	7. Furyan

**Furyan**

He wasn't sure how long they'd lain on the floor but when she started to shiver he pushed himself up and reached into one of his drawers to find a shirt for her. She made a sound of contentment as he drew it over her head. "Richard," she murmured.

"River," he returned simply for the joy of feeling the word in his mouth and knowing she'd done the same.

A small smile flitted around her lush lips and she blinked at him. Then she simply collapsed back against his chest as though her bones had turned to water. "She hurts and she is tired," she said quietly.

"That's cuz of the drugs that hundan gave you to put you to sleep, bao bai," Riddick muttered. He shifted her and then drew them both to their feet. "Let's lay you down and let you sleep some. You'll feel better in a few hours."

"Won't," she told him as he set her on the bed and moved to draw the blanket over her. Her small hand reached up and wrapped in the fabric of his shirt. "She is not what she was. She is broken."

He stiffened and then forced himself to relax his muscles. "You are not." He brushed off the strange speech pattern and her words as the drugs and exhaustion.

She only sighed and let her fingers release him. "Will he lay with her," she asked him hesitantly. She could feel the other minds on the ship but she pushed them away as best she could and concentrated on him. She didn't want the others. She only wanted him.

"He will," Riddick confirmed with a smile. "Always, wǒ de xiǎo ài (my little love)." He settle on the bed beside her, drew her to his chest and pulled the blanket over them both. "For all of time and beyond."

She made another soft sound and he felt her melt against him. He smiled, tightened his arms around her and let his own eyes drift shut. As he relaxed and finally allowed himself to truly believe that she was finally back where she belonged he felt a strange presence in his mind. He'd become used to Shirah in his head, whispering to him, telling him that she would be found but this was something new. That part of his mind that he'd pretty much ignored, the part that was Shirah welcomed the presence.

_River. _Shirah's cool, calm and comforting voice whispered a blessing and his lips tilted in a soft smile.

"Learned a new trick while we were apart," he mused aloud. He felt her muscles stiffen even in her dozing state. His smile widened into a grin. "Shiny," he said.

She giggled tiredly. "Her Furyan is odd."

"She likes him that way," he boasted. "And he loves her trick. Loves that she knows him now. Will always be able to find him and that I'll always be able to feel you."

She stirred against him and lifted her head from his chest. Her eyes were still a little cloudy and unfocused but steady on his own. "He does not mind that she will always know his thoughts. That she knows everyone's thoughts. Can pull their memories from them as easily as breathing?"

He gave a slight shrug. "I'd tell you anything I was thinkin' anyway," he told her easily. "Not sure on the others yet…could be uncomfortable for you but…helpful for us. You'd know iffen someone was gonna shoot us or somethin', right?"

She nodded with a smile. "Also…her precognition is clearer than it was when he…was taken away. But…her words slip. She cannot always say what she means. Comes out wrong."

Riddick shrugged again. "I know you. I can feel you. I'll figure it out and translate if needful."

She smiled even brighter, laid a kiss on his jaw and then curled up on his chest as she let her mind curl within his. "She will sleep now. Talk more later…maybe."

He drew in a deep lungful of air scented with her and nodded. "Yeah, later. Sleep my own."

He listened closely as she slowly drifted off. The presence of her in his arms and in his mind comforted him as he held her against him. He could distantly feel his own rage at what had been done to her when he had been unable to protect her but it was secondary. Rage was for later. For now he had his world in his arms and he could once again stand between her and anyone who dared to even think of causing her harm.

He ignored the sounds of the crew and the passengers he could faintly hear even through the sound-proofing on his bunk and let his own eyes drift closed. His girl was back and that was all he cared about. She was where she belonged.

**RR/RT RR/RT RR/RT**

River stared around herself in wonder. She knew that she was in a dream but she had never seen such lush grass or wild untamed beauty. She stood on the edge of a cliff, grass and trees and flowers surrounding her on three sides and the raging sea before her below the cliff. Everything was so lifelike that she could hear the waves crashing against the rocks, smell the flowers and the tint of salt and feel the breeze blowing gently on her face.

"Hello River," a quiet female voice said from beside her. "Welcome to Furya."

River turned her head and eyed the woman standing next to her. She was tall and her long tiny braids wove gently with the breeze. River turned to her fully and gave a small bow. "Shirah, Last Queen of the Furyans." Shirah's head tilted a bit and her silver eyes shone with the dim light. "And my Richard's mother."

Shirah's smile widened and became mischievous. "I am not the last Queen, my daughter," she claimed. "The Last Queen will come but not for many generations yet." She reached out and gently took River's hand within her own. "Do not fight it," she said softly when River opened her mouth to object. "You are my daughter as he is my son and you are Furyan. Defiant to the end. You have fought and you have suffered more than anyone should but you still fight on and you thirst for the blood of your enemy to coat your skin. Furyan Witch."

River heard the ring of truth and promise in the other woman's tone and nodded. "He is the Wrath," she mused. "And I am the Hope. I will not disappoint you."

Shirah nodded. "I never thought you would or could," she said placidly. "Come," she tugged a little on River's hand. "Sit with me and I will teach you of Furyan ways."

River let the other woman lead her away from the cliffs, through the mists and to a gazebo in a garden that she couldn't see but knew was there. River tilted her head again to listen as they took seats on the benches of the gazebo. "I cannot hear them," she murmured. "It is silent. I cannot hear anyone. Only the waves and the wind."

"You will not hear them here," Shirah told her. "This is a place for us. Furyans. The family he has found is made of Warriors but they are not quite Furyans yet. They will never be full Furyans but they will be as close as they could become. And you…you are Furyan already."

"My eyes do not shine," River refuted.

Shirah shrugged unconcerned. "They will," she shifted on the bench. "You are truly my daughter now, though the bond is not yet complete. One day…probably soon it will be. You already share my son's blood and own his heart. When the bond is complete…then you will be fully Furyan and there will be no more doubt for you about your place." Shirah's smile was once again impish. "Would you like to know of Richard's life?"

"He told me a lot before…before they took him away," River told her. "Everything before he came to the Academy. But…I would know your story. The story of the fall of Furya and…what happened after he was taken."

"The fall of Furya…" Shirah paused and shook her head. "It is not a good story, little one. Though we fought hard and died bloody as a Furyan should. Still we did not win and Richard is the only one of us left." Her lips turned down in a frown. "I cannot despair though for he has found you and you shall help him to bring back our race and we will once again roam the stars and planets. But tonight is not the time for that story."

River nodded. "Then will you tell me of him since I lost him? I wish to know…this crew and family. I wish for them to like me."

"They will love you," Shirah assured her. "For you are his and he is theirs." Then she showed her daughter of Richard's frantic fight to return to her. His anguish at finding her gone. His vow to find her and avenge her. She showed River Riddick's new family and how each of them helped him. How they vowed to find her and bring her safely home to them.

"Something is happening," River turned her head to the sky. "Something…I must go."

"Yes," Shirah agreed. "You must go…blood will be shed and he will need you." She too tilted her head towards the sky. "The blood of your enemies…there is nothing like it in the 'Verse. Furyans are a violent people, little one. And you…perhaps the most violent of them all."

River blinked and Shirah, the gazebo and the mist faded from view.


	8. Fed

**Fed**

**_A/N: Okay so…for my world Furyans speak a kind of Greek. I figure they're kind of like the Spartans…or were anyway and so they speak Greek. The Furyan (as it shall be called from now on) will be in italics…providing the site keeps it the way I typed it. Translations will be at the end of the chapter from now on…as long as I remember anyway. I'm sure I'll miss a few and I'm sure some of them are wrong but…yeah. If you have any questions at all let me know and I'll try to answer them. Thanks for reading and enjoy._**

River woke with a jolt at the pounding on the door of Riddick's bunk. "_Ti symvaínei?̱_" She asked him in a soft voice.

Riddick slanted a long glance at her and then his lips quirked up. "Talking to Shirah while you were sleepin' bao bao?" He shook it off and stood up. "Tell me later." He stalked to the ladder and pushed opened the door. "What?" He growled.

"We got us a situation and I need you," Mal said in a stiff voice. "I know yer…getting' reacquainted with yer girl but…"

"He will go with his captain," River's voice floated up the ladder and Riddick felt her hand on his lower back. "His girl needs clothing," she told him in a softer voice that he knew Mal couldn't hear.

Riddick shot a look down at her and then sighed and nodded. "All right. Pass me my goggles, my own."

Her fingers clenched in the fabric of his shirt. And then she let go. He heard her stumbling steps following the wall and wished he could help her but she'd kick his pi gu if he tried. "She all right?" Mal whispered concerned.

Riddick nodded slightly and turned his head to watch her slow progress back to him. "Her reaction to most drugs is worse than Jayne's," he whispered back. "It'll be a few days before she's even close to something like normal."

"Richard's girl has never been normal," River panted and passed his goggles up to him. "Have no wish to be such. The Sunshine is optimal for apparel to fit her."

Richard gave her a grin. "Bossy," he told her and leaned down to give her a smacking kiss. "Back to bed with you."

She nodded and stepped to the bed before collapsing on top of the blankets and staring miserably after him. She hated this weakness. She was his equal and yet right now she was as limp as a wet noodle and confused by the thoughts bombarding her.

She wanted to curl up inside his mind again but she knew she needed to be able to hear the others. Something was coming and she needed to be ready for it.

**RR/RT RR/RT RR/RT**

Riddick sighed heavily after he'd closed the hatch door. "Ta ma de di yu," he cursed.

Mal wrapped a hand over his shoulder and squeezed comfortingly. "She'll be all right, Rick. We'll get her better. Though that…girl thing…gotta admit it's kinda cute. And the way she was bossin' you…yeah, that was funny."

Riddick rolled his eyes and shrugged Mal's hand off. He took a few steps down the corridor and knocked on one of the hatches. Kaylee's happy voice called for him to come in and he swung the hatch open. "Mei mei, could you loan River a pair of pants and a shirt? She's…"

There was a flurry of movement and then Kaylee bounded up the ladder with an armful of clothing. "Shi," she told him breathlessly. "Where is she?"

"In the bunk," Riddick told her with a small shake of his head. Kaylee was so excited. "Kaylee…she's still a bit off," he warned her.

Kaylee rolled her eyes at him. "Course she is, Rick. Poor thing. Don't worry. Go," she flapped a hand at them. "Do whatever and I'll keep an eye on her. Go on now."

Riddick cracked a grin and followed Mal down the corridor. Kaylee grinned again and knocked softly on the hatch to Riddick's bunk. "River?" She called softly.

"The Sunshine may enter," an elegant voice called back and Kaylee cocked her head. It had been a long time since anyone had called her sunshine.

Shrugging off the oddity she opened the hatch and leapt down the ladder. "Hi River. I'm Kaylee. Rick asked me to bring you some clothes." She eyed the form huddled on the bed and smiled sympathetically. "Wow. You're even prettier than Rick said."

River stared at her for a long moment. "The Riddick said she was pretty?" River finally asked hesitantly.

Kaylee smiled at her again. "Course he did," she nodded and dumped the load of clothing on the bed. "That man bout went crazy lookin' for you. You're all he talks about. Well, not all but a lot. He loves you."

River smiled softly and fingered the fabric of one of the shirts Kaylee had dumped on the bed. "He does," she whispered. "She missed him very much." She shook her head and looked back up at Kaylee. "The girl is…appreciative for the attire." She winced and sighed. "Her words…"

Kaylee giggled. "It's all right. Our other gun hand he has weird reactions to any kinda drugs too. We're used to it." She started to sort through the clothes she'd brought and handed a few shirts to River. "Try these. They might not be the best fit but they'll work til we hit dirtside and git you some new stuff. We'll make Rick go with us…or maybe Jayne. Git the big, scary man discount."

"Jayne…" River said slowly. "Cobb, gun hand."

Kaylee beamed at her. "Rick's told you about us?"

"The girl knows a little," she confirmed.

Kaylee pulled out a pair of cargo pants and passed them over. "Try these on and I'll tell you more."

River accepted them and stood up carefully. Her legs shook a bit but held. "She is wobbly," she observed and tilted her head at the hatch door. "Not good."

"I can help you," Kaylee offered. She stood back up and held out her hand to the younger girl. "Here lean on me."

But River shook her head, shoved her legs into the pants and leapt for the ladder. "Bad man. Very bad man," she muttered. "Will injure her Richard. No!" She shoved the hatch open and pelted down the corridor towards the raised voices.

"River!" Kaylee shouted after her and raced to catch up.

**RR/RT RR/RT RR/RT**

Riddick followed after Mal with only one last look back at his bunk. Kaylee was jumping down the ladder and the hatch clanged shut. "What's going on?" He asked Mal and pulled the goggles over his eyes.

"We got us a mole aboard," Mal answered. "Got a message out to the Alliance an' they'll be here anytime."

"Scrambled the signal as soon as I found it," Wash said as he joined them at the end of the corridor. "But who knows?"

Mal and Riddick nodded. "Go on back to the bridge and get us set for a full burn," Mal ordered. "We'll take care a the mole."

"You got it," Wash answered and scrambled back towards the bridge.

"The doc?" Riddick asked in a knowing tone as they continued on their way.

"'S what I'm thinkin'," Mal confirmed. "An' I'll take care of it. Yer back up. Cuz you'll jes kill 'em and I need to find out what the Feds know."

Riddick snorted. "'M still gonna kill 'em," he said.

"After," Mal said repressively. "An' I won't stop you. Iffen he hurt your girl then he deserves it."

Riddick snorted again. Mal didn't normally agree with killing but even he had his limits. And slavers was one of them. Riddick fell into step behind the older man as they entered the bay. The doctor was turning away from the box that had held River. "Forget your toothpaste?" Mal asked in a hard tone. The doctor's eyes widened. Mal's hand whipped out and struck the doctor across the jaw.

Riddick smirked as the doctor hit the floor. Mal flexed his hand with a grimace. "Are you out of your mind?" The doctor groaned out and turned over to stare at them.

"Just about," Mal returned. "What'd you tell them?"

"Tell who?" The doctor asked and scrambled to his feet. Riddick fingered one of his shivs and Mal pulled out his gun.

"I got exactly no time for games," Mal nearly growled. He pointed the gun at the doctor's head. "What do they know?"

A flicker of movement across the bay drew Riddick's eyes and he started to step away from Mal and the doctor. The feeling of cold steel against the back of his head had him stopping abruptly. "Mal…," he said slowly. "It ain't the doc."

Mal's gun didn't waiver but he did glance back at the shorter man. A scowl crossed his face. "What?"

"You've got the wrong man," the shepherd said as he entered the bay fully.

Mal turned his head more fully towards the man standing behind Riddick with a gun to his head. "Some great gun hand you are," he muttered to Riddick.

Riddick only shrugged. "Not omniscient, Mal," he said easily. Dobson gave him a hard shove towards the doctor and Mal. Riddick didn't move. He turned his head and glared at Dobson. "Don't push me," he said in a growl. "You want me over there, you ask…politely."

Dobson sneered at him and motioned with the gun towards the two men. "Get over there."

Riddick sneered back. "That wasn't polite," he observed.

"Rick," Mal said warningly. "Don't get your brains blown out right now. Jayne'll fuss about the mess an'…I got a feeling your girl would kill me. Hang me up by my entrails or somethin'."

Riddick's lips creased and he ambled over to stand next to Mal. "She would," he agreed. "She's vicious like that."

"Put down those weapons," Dobson ordered.

"Fuck you," Riddick retorted. Mal elbowed him and then tossed his own gun to the floor when Dobson cocked back the hammer on his.

Riddick sighed and tossed his knife to the floor at his feet. "Now step back," Dobson ordered.

Riddick opened his mouth to curse the man again but Mal grabbed his elbow and pulled him back a step. "Mal," Riddick started.

"Bi jweh," Mal said sharply. "Now is not the time to discuss this."

"You people are lunatics," the doctor finally stuttered out.

"Simon Tam," Dobson trained his gun on the doctor.

"Tam?" Riddick asked and ignored the rest of Dobson's words. "Tam? _Aimati̱rí̱ gami̱méno skatá kólasi̱ dekára skatá_!" Riddick cursed in the language of his home.

All four of the other men stared at him in shock.

**RR/RT RR/RT RR/RT**

"Kaylee! What's goin' on?" Jayne asked loudly as the two girls barreled past him. He reached out and caught at the arm of the dark haired girl as she stumbled. "Shouldn't you be in bed, ni zi?" He asked quietly. "Kaylee!"

Kaylee stopped and turned back to them. "She's says Rick's gonna get hurt," she said impatiently. "Come on!" She motioned them on.

"River?" Jayne looked down at her.

"Man named Jayne," she said lowly and breathlessly. "Go." She leaned against the bulkhead. "She is fine. Shaky. Tired. Dizzy."

Jayne's lips creased in a smile. "Uh…that kinda means not fine, ni zi," he informed her.

She gave him a glare. "Richard will be hurt worse," she warned. "Go. The girl is coming. Save the Riddick."

Kaylee nodded and sped off down the corridor. Jayne took the time for one last long look at the girl and the glare that sent shivers up and down his spine before he followed Kaylee at a lope.

River closed her eyes, leaned more heavily on the bulkhead, drew in a deep lungful of breath and put a hand to her head. Everything was spinning. She couldn't get her bearings and the emotions and thoughts stabbing at her were making her head ache even more. Suddenly there were hands on her and she was lifted against a hard chest. "He'd kill me if I left you here," Jayne told her.

She nodded her head a little and relaxed against him. "She is obliged," she whispered.

Jayne set her down carefully just outside the cargo bay doors and helped her to lean against the wall. "Stay here," he ordered her. "At least until I can see what's goin' on in there."

"She will abide," River told him faintly. She closed her eyes again and let the wall take most of her weight.

The sound of a gunshot was loud and echoed around the ship in a tone of finality. River flinched and then dove for her Richard's mind. Pain and rage surrounded her. "No!" She whispered. "Nononono!" She struggled to stand and fell to her knees.

**Ti symvaínei—What's happening?**

**bao bao—baby**

**ta ma de di yu—fucking hell**

**Mei mei—little sister**

**Shi—yes**

**Bi jweh—shut up**

**Aimati̱rí̱ gami̱méno skatá kólasi̱ dekára skatá—bloody fucking shit hell damn fuck**

**ni zi—little girl**


	9. Simon's Mei Mei

**Simon's Mei Mei**

She could hear the raised voices and the feel the anger and pain of the crew but she couldn't seem to get her legs to work right. She needed to get to him. She needed to assure herself that he wasn't going to leave her again. "Richard," she murmured and pushed herself to her feet. "Richard."

_I'm fine,_ his voice was loud in her head and she submerged herself for a long moment in his mind. _It's just a graze._

A modicum of strength returned to her and she forced herself to walk the last two steps to the bay door. "Sunshine," she said as she saw the other woman on the floor. A glance gave her all the information she needed on the others. Richard's arm was dripping blood on the floor but he was safe enough. His knife held against the throat of the man who called himself Dobson. She sent the Fed a hard look that he didn't see but that didn't matter. Jayne and the shepherd were standing with their backs to her as they eyed Richard and the Fed.

Only the first mate and the pilot were missing and so she pulled a part of herself away from the stabilizing influence of Richard's mind and sought them out. Zoe was headed towards them and Wash was frantically trying to ready the ship to change course and hit full burn. They had both heard the gun shot and were worried. She tried to send them a calm she didn't feel. They would need it.

Simon and Mal hadn't seen her yet though the Companion had. She brought her mind to the conversation between Kaylee and Simon and frowned. Kaylee was hurt badly. That wasn't good.

"Just tie him up, Rick," she heard Zoe order as she cocked her mare's leg. River couldn't spare the concentration to find out who she was aiming at. They were overwhelming her. All of them. She wasn't sure how much longer she could fight off their thoughts and emotions. It was all too much.

Mal and Simon moved to lift Kaylee and carry her to the infirmary.

"Captain," Wash's voice came over the intercom and silence fell over the cargo bay. "We've been hailed by a cruiser—ordered to stay on course…and dock for prisoner transfer."

Mal stared at Simon. Simon let go of Kaylee and stood up. "Change course," he said. "Run."

"Hell with you," Mal retorted. "You brought this down on us. I'm dumping you with the law."

Inara tried to interrupt and River forced herself to move from her slumped posture. She would not let Kaylee die.

"She's dying," Simon pointed out. River stood just behind him and stared down at the Sunshine.

"You won't let her," Mal said.

"Yes, I will," Simon returned.

"I won't," River said and pushed her brother out of the way. "If he won't help her then the girl will," she knelt down beside Kaylee. Her fingers shook as she inspected the wound. "But she will need help."

"River?" Simon's voice was shocked and he took a step towards her. Mal's gun came up and pointed straight at his face. "What?" He spluttered.

"Back off," Mal ordered and then looked back at River. "Can you do it?"

River held up one shaking hand. "She will need help," she repeated. "The bullet fell apart and she cannot pull the pieces out but she will tell how. Richard knows. She needs his hands and she will be his eyes."

Mal started to stow away his gun again and Simon leapt forward and grabbed River's shoulder. "Mei mei," he said. "How…what…get away from them. You have no idea—"

"Rick!" Mal yelled out and trained his gun on the doctor again. "Git over here. You," he addressed Simon. "Git your hands offa her."

River shrugged Simon's hand from her shoulder and nearly fell into Inara. "The girl apologizes," she murmured. "The world…is spinning. Should not have moved so quickly."

The sound of a scuffle and flesh hitting flesh came from behind her and she smirked. Mal met her gaze and rolled his eyes. "Rick's a mite pissed."

River shrugged. "Ge ge is a boob," she said simply. Strong hands lifted her to her feet. "And her Furyan is temperamental."

"Insulting me again," Riddick's warm breath caressed her ear. "Need me to carry you?" He didn't wait for her answer. He simply lifted her into his arms and cradled her to his chest.

Mal shot her a look of concern as he lifted Kaylee. "Zoe, get us out of here," he instructed. "You sure you can do this?" He asked River.

River nodded at him. Simon rose to his feet behind them and reached for Riddick's shoulder. River's hand flew out and he clutched at his nose as blood spouted from it. "No touchy," River told her brother over Riddick's shoulder as he mounted the stairs. "Mine. She is selfish. Mine. Simon no touch."

Simon stared after her goggle eyed.

**RR/RT RR/RT RR/RT**

_"__Chreiazómaste gázes, lavída kai anarrófi̱si̱s gia na xekiní̱sei kai éna set syrrafí̱s gia argótera," _she told him as he set her on a stool.

_"__Kai to neró,"_ he reminded her.

She nodded and braced herself against the exam bed to have a look into the wound. "_Tha prépei na ti̱s kópsei éna kommáti gia na diev̱rýnei ti̱n pli̱gí̱,_" she pointed.

"_To paisa,"_ he murmured. Riddick slanted her a glance and then motioned to Jayne. "Come let her use you as a back brace, Jayne. She's still a little dizzy."

Mal moved over and stood behind her. "I got it," he told Jayne. "You keep a watch on that door. Don't let the doc in."

Jayne nodded and stood in front of the doorway never taking his eyes from Kaylee. "Will she…"

River's clear brown gaze met his and went slightly unfocused. "Sunshine will be fine, Man Named Jayne. The Riddick will fix her." Her eyes slipped closed as Riddick worked on Kaylee. "_Ekeí, o vasiliás mou , gia na boreíte na to deíte?"_

"_Nai, écho̱ to pí̱ra," _he responded.

Her eyes slid open a fraction and silver peeked out at them. "Whoa," Jayne commented quietly when he saw the affect but he didn't call any other attention to it.

The infirmary was silent aside from comments made between River and Riddick as they worked over Kaylee.

"You have to stop this," Simon's voice broke the quiet. "My sister has no idea what she's doing. She'll kill her!"

"Shut him up," Riddick growled. "_Ekeí , af̱tí̱ eínai i̱ telef̱taía tou,"_ he told River.

She nodded. "Sew up Sunshine," she gave a tired giggle. "No sunbeams leaking into the night now."

Mal gave out a relieved sigh and let the arms he'd wrapped around Richard's River tighten in thanks. "Good."

"She's speaking nonsense!" Simon's strident voice carried to them from the lounge. "You have to stop them. My sister is not a doctor!"

Riddick gave a growl without words and River patted at his arm. "Needle to flesh. In and out. Him too."

Riddick looked over at her for a moment and then nodded. "Lemme finish this and then I'll get Jayne or Zoe to do me. Mal's stitches always look like crap."

Mal glared at him but couldn't deny it. "She would play doctor with him but she is a leaf," River murmured and held up a shaking hand. "She cannot make it stop."

Mal let out a light chuckle. "Yer stomach's been growlin' against my hand for the past twenty minutes, ni zi," he told her. "We'll sew up your man and get you some food and then someone can tell me what the Hell's goin' on on my gorram boat!"

"Her eyes ain't glowin' anymore," Jayne stated.

Riddick shrugged as he tied off the last of Kaylee's stitches. "She ain't in my head anymore, not the same way."

"In your head?" Mal asked cautiously.

"Part of the explanations you're so all fired on gettin'."

Mal nodded satisfied for the moment. "All righty then. She gonna be okay here by herself?" He nodded at Kaylee.

"I'll stay with her," Jayne volunteered. "Lemme get Rick stitched up first. Jes…tell me what I need to know to help her for now and tell me the explanations later."

Riddick nodded and handed Jayne the needle and thread. "There's not much you gotta do," he told Jayne after the other man was finished and drew River from Mal's arms and into his own. "Just be here so she doesn't wake up alone."

"Be the magpie," River said and then frowned unhappily.

Jayne smiled a little and Riddick shrugged. "She means talk to her," he translated. "Kaylee might hear you and wake up faster and it'll help keep her calm."

Jayne nodded and sat down on the stool River had been using. He picked up Kaylee's hand and leaned his head down close to her ear. River's smile was sunny even through her own tiredness and faltering senses. "Tired, my king," she murmured.

"Food first, my own," he whispered into her hair as he followed Mal from the infirmary. "Then you can sleep."

She nodded against him and let out a yawn. "The girl will abide."

Mal gathered up the rest of the onlookers and herded them to the galley. Simon tried to object but Mal simply grabbed his arm and dragged him up the stairs. "She needs food," Mal said loudly. "An' Rick missed dinner too." He thrust Simon into one of the seats and hit the intercom. "Set auto pilot and come down, Wash. Got someone you need to meet."

"Finally," the pilot answered back cheerfully. "I'm the only one that hasn't at least seen her."

"My sister is not a side show freak!" Simon protested. "And she needs to get back to the infirmary and take a smoother and she needs an exam! Who knows what pulling her out early has done to her! She could be going into shock. She's not-" The thunk of the hilt of a knife hitting the table and then his chest stopped his words abruptly. Startled eyes tracked up and locked on his sister. River scowled at him.

"She means bi jweh," Riddick said laconically. "Lucky she's only irritated and not mad or she'd have put it through your teeth."

Simon's mouth opened but River let out a wordless growl and slipped another knife out from behind Riddick's back. Simon sat back and clamped his teeth shut.

"No knife play at the table," Mal told her as he thunked two plates down in front of the couple. "Sit, eat, talk," he ordered.

River frowned but slipped the knife back in its sheath at Riddick's back as he settled her into a chair. She grinned happily at the plate of food and scooped up the chopsticks. "Heaven," she muttered and attacked the food like a starving wolf.

**_Chreiazómaste gázes, lavída kai anarrófi̱si̱s gia na xekiní̱sei kai éna set syrrafí̱s gia argótera_****-We need gauze, forceps and suction to start and a suturing kit for later.**

**_Kai to neró_****-And water**

**_Tha prépei na ti̱s kópsei éna kommáti gia na diev̱rýnei ti̱n pli̱gí̱-_****You'll need to cut her a bit to widen the wound**

**_To paisa_****-Got it**

**_Ekeí, o vasiliás mou , gia na boreíte na to deíte_****-There, my king, do you see it?**

**_Nai, écho̱ to pí̱ra_****-Yes, I've got it**

**_Ekeí , af̱tí̱ eínai i̱ telef̱taía tou—_****There, that's the last of it.**

**ni zi—little girl**

**bi jweh—shut up**


	10. Explaining River

**Explaining River**

**_A/N: So this was harder to write than I thought it would be. But then all of my stories are giving me grief. I think it's the weather. Hot as Hellfire one day and then freezing the next. Pick a damn temperature already! Anyway…enjoy and lemme know what you think._**

"That little bitty thing is Richard's girl?" Wash burst out as he entered the galley. "She's just a little bit!" He slid into a seat beside his wife and stared unashamedly at the small woman seated next to the muscular gun hand.

"She is full grown, though Cap'n and Man named Jayne call her ni zi," River retorted easily. She liked the pilot. His thoughts were soft and sharp at the same time.

"That's cuz you're tiny," Mal grinned at her. "An' I'm old enough to be yer pa…I think." She tilted her head with a sigh and nodded.

"She is little," Riddick chuckled around a mouthful of food. "But so's dynamite." He used one hand to brush his fingers through her hair.

"And the girl can be just as explosive," she nodded and rubbed at the scar on his shoulder hidden by his shirt. "Small of stature, big of brain," she grinned cockily.

"I'm Wash," Wash told her with a happy smile. "I'm the pilot. It's nice to finally meet you."

"River," she returned after she'd swallowed. "Richard's girl." She tilted her head at the blond man and smiled. "She would like to play dinosaurs with you. She likes to make them eat purplebellies."

Wash laughed in delight. "So do I," he confided. "I told Rick that you could be a dinosaur and it turns out…you are! Which one do you like best?"

"Husband," Zoe said with a hint of a smirk. "Let the child eat. Otherwise we'll never let her out of the boat dirtside on account of the wind that might blow her away."

Wash mimed zipping and locking his lips. "No talking from me. Silence is my new creed. You'll see I can be quiet."

River giggled, knowing that wouldn't last very long, then scooped up more of her food. Small conversations broke out. Simon, River and Riddick didn't partake in any of them. Simon was too busy glaring and River and Riddick were too busy eating. Riddick pushed his plate away first and stood. "Tea, my own?" He asked her.

She nodded and lifted her head to give him a smile. "She doesn't need any tea," Simon muttered. "She should have water. That won't react with anything in her system."

Richard mostly ignored him but did consider his words for a moment. Then he shrugged. River was the only one who knew exactly what they'd done to her and what other drugs the Academy had put into her. If the cryo drugs were safe then tea should be too. He poured them both mugs and then set hers on the table in front of her before retaking his seat at her side.

River slanted her brother a harsh look but didn't say anything. He didn't know that he was wrong and he was so angry that anything she said would be proof to him of her instability.

River finally pushed her plate away from her and sighed happily. She held her now steadier hand up to her face and grinned. "She feels much better. The girl thanks you," she told Mal cheerfully. "Food was good idea."

"River!" Simon said sharply. "It's time for you to go to the infirmary so that I can check you out." He half rose from his seat and beckoned for River to follow him with one hand. She only sighed and took a sip of her tea.

"No," Mal said with a hard edge. "It's time for someone to tell me what the Hell is going on," he paused and looked at River's tired face and the shadows under her eyes. "Except for the ni zi who can go to bed iffen she wants, everyone else is stayin' here."

River shrugged and then climbed into Richard's lap. She hooked her fingers around her mug of tea and dragged it with her. "She will stay," she said once she was settled. "They will be speaking of her and the girl will participate."

"Do you hear her?" Simon burst out. "There is something wrong with her and I have to figure out what it is and fix her!"

"The girl cannot be fixed," River said in a quiet painfilled voice.

"There's nothing wrong with her," Riddick burst out at the same time.

Mal slammed a hand down on the table. "Bi jweh," he shouted. "Alla you!" He waited until everyone was looking at him and then nodded and sat back down. "Now…most of us know Rick's side of this drama so we know River's…mostly. Doc…stop insisting on examining her and just tell us your story. We'll get to the rest when we get to it."

Simon glared at him but nodded eventually. He stood at the end of the table and stared at the wall. He had to tell them and then they would see that he was right. They would understand that he needed to protect his mei mei even from herself and the hundan that suddenly seemed attached to her.

Simon took in a deep breath. "I am very smart," he began.

"Is a boob," River interrupted. "Richard is smart. The girl is smart. Simon is boob." She gave him a sunny smile and took a sip of her tea.

Riddick chuckled and then shushed her quietly at Mal's hard look. "Shh, my own. Let him talk now."

"Just clarifying for the edification of all concerned," she retorted. "But she will subside…unless ge ge acts the boob."

Simon sighed in irritation. "I went to the best MedAcad on Osiris. Top three percent of my class," he continued. "Finished my internship in eight months. 'Gifted' is the term. I say this not to brag but to explain—"

River snorted but said nothing.

Simon shot her an aggravated look. "So when I tell you that my little sister makes me look like an idiot child, I want you to understand my full meaning."

"Know River's a genius," Mal interrupted this time. "Rick told us that a very long time ago."

"One of the first things he ever told us about her," Zoe concurred.

Wash got to his feet and lifted the tea pot. "Anyone for more?" He asked.

"Richard's girl would like some," River said and held her tea cup out. "Very good tea. Better than she can make and she is a genius."

Riddick lifted his mug as well. "And so very humble about it too," he commented.

River shrugged and sipped at her drink. "She must match her Furyan's arrogance. His is legendary."

Most of the table laughed at that and Simon cleared his throat to bring their attention back to him. "Arrogance aside…River was a gift." He smiled a little and River's lips curved at the memories in his head. "She could be such a brat…"

"Used to correct his homework and his textbooks," River told them. "They were wrong and she was right. She is always right…except when she isn't."

"An' when is that?" Mal asked with his lips slightly quirked.

River shrugged again. "Hasn't happened yet."

The crew laughed again and she grinned. Aside from Simon everyone on the ship seemed to be in fairly good moods. Their thoughts were quiet and content. She could feel the underlying thread of worry for the Sunshine but it wasn't overpowering. They trusted that she and the Riddick had fixed up the damage to the other girl and that was a gift to her. That they trusted her and were willing to include her was her own gift.

"There was a school," Simon said loudly over the chuckles still ringing through the galley.

"Know that part already," Zoe interrupted him this time. "Where you think them two met?" She used her cup to gesture to River and Riddick. "He was her partner and friend once they elevated her. Protected her as best he could."

"Her heart," River murmured. "Gave him her heart and received his in return. Protected each other. Helped each other. Taught each other." She shuddered and set her cup on the table. She pressed her side into Riddick's chest and her fingers slid up under the sleeve of his t-shirt to stroke the scar she'd given him. "Then they took her Warrior. Showed her images of his death. The girl could not feel him anymore. He was gone and she was alone. No more drums in her head. No more Warrior. Only silence. And madness. And vengeance. She swore to make them bleed."

Simon stared at her and she flinched away from him and buried her head in Riddick's shoulder. "Shh, I'm here," Riddick soothed her.

"He thinks she is mad, insane, feng li. His thoughts hurt," she murmured.

"You see?" Simon said in a burst of anger. "They did something to her. They hurt her and drove her insane. She says she hears voices. And she's violent. She speaks in riddles. I have to protect her. Even if it's from the insanity in her mind."

Riddick snorted derisively. "She ain't crazy," he refuted. "They made her a Reader."

Silence descended over the galley as everyone stared at the couple. "Readers are a myth," Simon said.

River whimpered and pressed even closer to Riddick. "Make them stop. They were happy and quiet. Make them stop, Richard. They are hurting her."

Riddick let go of her with one arm and slammed his hand on the table. "Shut it! Alla you! You're overwhelming her. Think a somethin' else. I'll rip out your brains and dance on them to make it quiet for her."

He could feel her immersing herself inside his mind in an effort to block out the others. He ignored their reactions and concentrated on her. The silky feel of her hair, the smoothness of her skin, the warmth of her body pressed tightly against his own. Slowly she relaxed and pulled out of his head.

"Sorry 'bout that, ni zi," Mal apologized when she'd lifted her head and bruised brown eyes met his. "Was just a shock is all. We'll figure out how to keep from hurting you."

River nodded. "She is…tired and wobbly. The drugs make it…loud."

"How did you get her out?" Zoe asked Simon. She figured that the easiest and fastest way to get River back on a semi even keel was to get the attention off of her. "Rick's been tryin' fer a year or more. But even with our help and the connections we all have we couldn't find a trace of her."

Simon sneered at the man holding his sister. "My resources were a bit more vast than yours are," he stated.

"Got lucky," River contested. "Was approached by the Underground. Men and women who knew what was happening. Families of subjects. Friends. Concerned politicians. Worked together to stop the…scientists and…Blue Sun. They were too few and too poor to do a lot but they told ge ge how to get Richard's girl out. Knew he was looking. Knew he could help. But he got her out and ran away."

Simon shrugged a bit, unconcerned. "Couldn't do much more. The government froze my accounts. And River was—is unstable. She needs me more than they ever could."

River snorted and shook her head. "Simon is boob. They will not let the Subject Tam go that easily."

"They're going to be hunting you," Mal stated more than asked.

"Yes," River admitted. "She…will leave if he wishes it." Riddick swallowed down his instant objection. "She would like to stay with Richard's family. They are…quiet…mostly. And they…she is a government trained psychic assassin. She could be useful. But…they will…the Subject Tam is their star attraction. The Silent Ones will hunt her and her Riddick when they know he is alive. We bring trouble to your door."

Mal glared at her. "Knew Rick was trouble when I hired him. Knew you would be when he told us about you. Never stopped us helpin' him look for you." He nodded to himself. "Better odds havin' you on our side and us on yours. Ain't kickin' a ni zi offa my boat."

River cocked her head at him. "Doesn't care that she could kill them with her brain?" She asked hesitantly.

Mal's face went blank and his brown eyes held a fire in them. "Would you?" He asked.

"She can't do that," Simon objected. "No matter what they did to her brain she cannot use it to kill people. She's…" He shook his head. "She's speaking nonsense again."

River ignored him. "No. Richard's girl can see inside the crew. Good people. Fair. Just. Good. Browncoats and Sunshine. She can abide."

"All right," Mal nodded easily. "So…what happened after they took Rick? Cuz…even the cryo drugs don't totally account for the differences between what he said about you and the reality."

River tilted her head as she listened to both his words and his thoughts. Mal wasn't really being nosy. He just wanted to know what to do to help her. He didn't think she was insane but he didn't figure she was completely sane either. "They took things out and they put things in. Secrets that don't belong. Secrets that are not hers but she carries the blood of them anyway. All have secrets. She does not share theirs. Families secrets belong to them. But the Silent Ones…and their keepers have secrets to tear the 'Verse and she holds them inside. Poke needles in her eyes and ask her what she sees." Tears welled inside her eyes. "But she is not strong enough." River turned her gaze away from Mal and down to her hands.

"Strong enough for what, sweetie?" Wash asked her in a quiet voice.

River's eyes flicked up to his and he drew in a sharp breath at the reflected pain in them. "To see the secrets they put inside her head. They are a canker in her brain. They leak out and drive her mad. One day the canker will burst and then…she will be truly insane. Bullet to the brainpan. Squish."

She flinched back against Richard's chest at the instant and loud denials from nearly everyone seated around her. Richard merely tightened his arms around her and buried his face in the skin of her neck. "You won't leave me," he told her. "Not ever."

Finally the uproar died down and Mal reached out a hand to lightly touch River's arm. "There won't be no bullets to no brainpans," he told her solemnly when she looked up at him. "We got our own assassin to keep you in line when you go sideways."

River scowled and ripped Richard's shirt from his shoulder. "She was startled and she stabbed him. She could kill him too." She pointed at the scar high on his shoulder.

Everyone blinked and then Zoe chuckled. "Well hell," she commented. "That ain't hardly fair, ni zi!" River turned her gaze to the woman. "I been wantin' to stab or shoot that jackass a time or two myself and I ain't never got to do it."

This brought chuckles from the rest of the crew and the Shepherd. "She's right, ni zi," Mal nodded. "We'll be here to protect him and he'll protect us. You go sideways and we'll jes sew ourselves right back up."

River finally giggled as she read their intentions as clearly as they stated them. "She thanks you. She will endeavor to make sure family stays in one piece."

"That'd be good," Mal nodded and stood. "Now it's gettin' late and we got us a mole to question."

"And Richard's girl is tired." River yawned and wrapped her arms around Riddick's neck. "They know the important things. Take her to bed, Furyan."

"Aw!" Mal groaned. "Don't be sayin' things like that in my galley, ni zi. I don' wanna know."

Richard shot him a grin as he toted River from the room.


End file.
